Abley Letchford Partnership Celebrates its Birthday by going to the Movies

Development planning and infrastructure consultancy Abley Letchford Partnership Ltd, celebrated their 7th birthday in February 2021 in a very special way.  They used this celebration to announce their involvement with Shinfield Studios and their role in bringing Hollywood glamour to Wokingham.  
 
With a starring role in this production is the University of Reading.  They have entered into an agreement with affiliates of Commonwealth Real Estate LP, a film studios investor based in Los Angeles. The agreement covers a long lease of land at the University’s Thames Valley Science Park campus for the development of major film studios and a creative media campus.

Following community consultation, the campus is henceforth known as Shinfield Studios. The campus should open with the appropriate planning permissions in place, in late 2022. Once operational, the studios will bring big Hollywood film productions to the Wokingham area. 
 
Launched at the back end of 2020, Shinfield Studios are finalising plans to establish a state-of-the-art, 21st century film and television complex. Situated on over 65 acres of land, in close proximity to the M4 at the Thames Valley Science Park in Shinfield, the benefits of this for Wokingham are obvious enough. Coming in at over £200 million, this development is set to ignite a powerhouse of creative production and new talent. Generating up to 3,000 new jobs, this is an obvious boost to the local economy.
 
The Thames Valley Science Park, the eventual super, studio site, borders the M4 and lies within easy reach of Wokingham and Reading town centres. Further, it’s a mere thirty minutes by rail to central London, with Heathrow being only thirty minutes by road.
 
ALP’s involvement with this project comes via their established association with the University of Reading. Director Leigh Abley said “You might say it cements our presence with them both in the literal and figurative sense. And of course, we’re delighted with our backstage role in bringing some star quality to the Thames Valley region – it’s an agreeable diversion from housing”.