Major film and tv campus could bring up to 350 jobs to Midlands
A UK Irish consortium has selected a 25-acre site in the Lough Sheever Corporate Park in Mullingar as the location for a huge film and television studio campus.
It is understood that an application for planning permission will be submitted shortly.
The proposal is being brought forward by a consortium led by experts who have worked at senior levels of the film industry over the last 30 years, formerly at Universal Pictures, Disney, and Troy Studios.
It is believed that the Lough Sheever site in Mullingar was selected due to the impressive mix of accommodation, catering, and business services in the area.
It is also in close proximity to Dublin, which serves as a major international travel hub, with a wide array of direct flights to North America and mainland Europe.
The project has the potential to generate 300 construction jobs. Once completed, the studio could employ up to 350 film crew.
If planning permission is approved, phase one of the studio development is expected to be fully operational within 12 months.
Aidan Davitt, MD, and Alan Bracken, partner, at Sherry FitzGerald Davitt and Davitt, along with the two local ministers, Robert Troy and Peter Burke, have been working to bring the project to the county, and with Westmeath County Council to advance the proposal.
Mr Davitt said: “This is going to be the most exciting commercial development ever in the midlands – it will be of international significance, it’s going to be one of the biggest studios in western Europe.
“Sherry FitzGerald Davitt and Davitt were delighted to facilitate this consortium locating in Mullingar, which was up against stiff opposition from several towns within an hour’s radius of the M50.
“We were fortunate to have an ideal site at Lough Sheever, and an experienced and highly regarded firm in Kelbuild Limited, who own the land.”
A seasoned professional in the property business, Mr Davitt said the project is subject to planning, and an application will follow in the coming weeks.
Local TD, Peter Burke, who is Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, stated that he has met the promoters a number of times regarding this “very exciting proposal for Mullingar”.
“The scale of the project is colossal and if brought to fruition would make Ireland a world leader in the film industry. Three hundred construction jobs would be created during phase one and 350 high-value jobs for employees from phase one (late 2023), and hundreds more high-value jobs when the complex is fully occupied at the end of 2024, which is an ambitious timeline.