Sunderland Crown Works Studios funding setback 'not end of project '
The development, on the former shipyard site in Pallion, next to the Northern Spire Bridge, is expected to create thousands of jobs.
Funding for the rest of the scheme was expected to come from a joint venture between Fulwell Entertainment and Cain, which had intended on building 19 sound stages at the riverside site. Alison Gwynn, head of North East Screen, said: "We know we have support from central and regional government, one investor may be out but this is a chance to find the right investor."The organisation said there had been a 131% increase in the number of productions filmed in the region over the past three years and it was "confident" the site would be up and running by 2027.
"This isn't all doom and gloom, the groundworks are happening right now, construction is due to start in January - this is going to happen, we are really confident," Ms Gwynn said. Phase one of the project would see four sound stages built on the site, with an aim of getting more built in further phases if the studio "proved" to be commercially viable.
'Grit and determination'
Fulwell Entertainment, which is behind the Netflix football documentary Sunderland 'Til I Die, said it "remains committed to working with the council to find appropriate private funding, complementing the combined North East authority and wider government funding needed to make these world-class production studios a reality".Labour-led Sunderland City Council said the proposals were "being presented to the investment market, with the aim to put in place a final funder and developer later this year".Rob Lawson, chair of Sunderland Business Partnership, a collective of the region's businesses and organisations, said it was important to support the efforts of the council as it searched for new investment."Sunderland is a city of grit and determination – a place that digs in and delivers through adversity," he added.
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