North Somerset Council launches regional film office
North Somerset Council has launched the district's first film office.
The North Somerset Film Office has signed up to the Filming In England Partnership with Creative UK.
The partnership connects organisations ranging from local authorities and studios to national organisations such as the British Film Commission, National Trust and English Heritage.
An accompanying website has also been created, enabling residents to offer their homes and businesses, to provide catering or accommodation and for crew to register their interest in a project.
Filming generated £500,000 in revenue for the North Somerset economy in 2021-22. Recent examples include BBC One's The Outlaws, popular 'tween series Tracy Beaker (BBC), Sanditon (ITV, pictured) and Sandylands (Gold).
Councillor Mark Canniford, North Somerset Council’s executive member for placemaking and economy, said: “We have a great existing reputation for film-friendliness here in North Somerset, and I am delighted that we’re building on that by signing up to the Filming In England Partnership. I hope that this will help us to maximise the promotional opportunities created by filming and film tourism.
“Film tourism is great for our area as it showcases our rich natural and architectural assets in front of a huge audience and attracts people to visit filming locations. This is of significant benefit to the visitor economy.“
Charlotte Wood, production liaison manager (South West) at Creative England, said: “Creative England welcomes the opportunity to work with the North Somerset Film Office through the Filming in England Partnership. Our production services team works closely with film offices across the English regions to facilitate the filming needs of feature film and high-end TV drama productions.
“The UK film and TV industry is booming and the South West region has a lot to offer to [the] industry. North Somerset is within close proximity to the main production hubs and provides a fantastic addition of on location filming options, including coastal landscapes, rural villages and seaside towns.
“The amount of filming that takes place in the area is testament to the film-friendly attitude of the North Somerset Film Office in welcoming production and providing a professional and efficient service to industry.”
According to the local council, the region boasts strong infrastructure, diversity of locations and comparatively low production costs. Over 100 filming shoots take place each year in locations across the area — from Abbots Pool and Portishead to Clevedon, the Mendips and Weston-super-Mare.
This story first appeared on our sister site, KFTV.
Images via ITV.
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