Film Office set to capitalise on city locations

A council is to exploit a city as a magnet for production crews with the establishment of a dedicated film office.

Peterborough Film Office will be a one-stop-shop for permits, licences and information and will be based at the city council office in Fletton Quays.

The council said it would be used to capitalise on a growing market for movie creation outside London, with the city centre, lido, embankment and Central Park all touted as possible film set locations.

Peterborough City Council leader Dennis Jones said it heralded an "exciting opportunity" and would be a "boon for tourism and economy".

The council is setting up social media channels and a dedicated section on the council website which will include information about utilities, parking and a code of conduct for potential production companies for movies, television productions and YouTube influencers.

It will also help signpost producers and site managers towards other non-council owned locations, which will deal with filming needs on an individual basis.

The council has joined other local authorities at Creative England, a national directory and resource for productions looking to tap into the expertise of locally based crews.

Previous production locations in the city include the Nene Valley Railway, which saw Goldeneye and Octopussy filmed in the 1980s and 1990s, and the 1984 spoof spy movie, Top Secret, with Val Kilmer.

The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission (1985), a World War Two action film, also chose the Nene Valley Railway for several key sequences.

The 2007 movie Atonement, starring Keira Knightley, filmed several sequences in the Peterborough area, transforming the Ouse and Nene Washes nature reserves into 1930s French countryside, while Eldernell Lane near Coates and Gedney Drove End provided settings for rural and coastal scenes.

More recent productions include the 2016 British comedy Zombies in Tha Hood, which was filmed at Queensgate, Orton, Railworld, and Palmerstone Road.

There has already been interest from major production firms to use the city.

Jones added: "We have beautiful locations across the city that we should be using, and this will be a way of containing that information in one portal that showcases what we have to offer."

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