A proposed multi-million pound expansion of Twickenham Studios, including a new flagship building, café, bar, boutique cinema and TV studio with audience seating, has won backing from the community.

The studios submitted a planning application in mid-January and have already received 23 comments of support from residents.

The Barons Residents Association, which speaks on behalf of people living in the streets surrounding the studios in St Margarets, is among those backing it.

"We welcome this improvement project and the value to the community in respect of jobs and keeping our high street vibrant, which will be welcome especially after this covid period," the group said.

Other residents have enthusiastically backed the redevelopment as "positive" and "great news".

One wrote: "This is a fantastic proposal that will bring enormous social, economic and cultural benefit to the local community.

"It will also deliver regeneration on what is a fairly ugly corner of St Margarets to create a modern yet historically sympathetic building. I'm very excited by the proposal and support it wholeheartedly."

Another said: "The improvements to the existing site and the addition of a cafe will really improve that corner of St Margarets. It is a privilege to have the film studios here."

A third wrote: "There is an undeniable creative spirit that exists in St Margarets and the film studios form an important part of that.

"I welcome the proposal to develop a new creative hub within our community that champions creativity and helps further cement our position as an important cultural hub in London. I offer my full support to the plan."

What do the plans involve?

Central to the transformation of Twickenham Film Studios will be the construction of a new entrance building on the St Margarets Road at its junction with The Barons.

It will include a café and heritage centre open to the public, which will allow people to learn about the remarkable part the studios have played in the British film industry and the many famous and successful films it has been involved in from silent movies through to Netflix productions.

There will also be a new hub for the creative industries in the area with workspaces for rent.

Significantly, there will be a new TV studio with audience seating for up to 150 people, together with refurbished film and sound production studios. At the same time, some of the existing buildings will have an extra storey added to the roofline.

History of the Twickenham Studios

The studios can trace their history back to 1913 and were at one time the biggest film production facilties in the country, responsible for many classic films ranging from Hard Day's Night, featuring The Beatles, through to Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody and the hit Netflix drama Enola Holmes, starring Millie Bobbie Brown.

The new entrance building will feature a facade designed to mimic the shapes and colours of the surrounding architecture in what is a conservation area.

Architect Lianne Clark, of the firm Hollaway, said the facade uses a steel material that is designed to weather over time to develop deep red tones to match the brick on nearby buildings.

"This is an historic take, but in a contemporary way," she said.

"We are proposing a Cor-ten steel, which is like a rusted steel. It is a material that gets better with age. It is hard wearing and durable. We liked the terracotta bricks to the left in the conservation area and we wanted to create a more up to date contemporary elevation we have chosen Cor-ten steel."

A fascinating prospect

The new block is designed to reflect the building at the original entrance to Twickenham Film Studios which burned down many decades ago and is now just an empty space. The site suffered a major fire in 1935 and a direct hit in a World War II bombing raid.

The managing director of Twickenham Studios, Cara Sheppard, who is a former senior executive at Warner Bros, said: "I've always found Twickenham a fascinating prospect.

"It has all the potential in the world to become something very special indeed. I have always seen such potential for growth and development at the studio but that does require some significant vision and courage – its not for the fainthearted!"

She added: "I want to ensure TW1 is a destination, as well as being able to house projects servicing clients anywhere in the world.

"TW1 will be a creative hub to collaborate with leading industry partners. A place to nurture grass roots talent and bravely lead our investment into the next generation. Ensuring we are the chosen London studio for large Hollywood and Independent features, TV series, music videos, commercials, documentaries through to a variety of emerging technology projects."

Piers Read and Jeremy Rainbird acquired Twickenham Studios in February 2020 and took over management control marking the beginning of a bold and exciting new era for the studios, which won an Oscar for sound on Bohemian Rhapsody and a Bafta for mixing on the World War One drama 1917.