Everything you need to know about Crown Works Studios as D Day approaches for major Sunderland plans

Land which once played a pivotal role in the city's rich shipbuilding history could soon house a new industry, one which would shape the future of Sunderland and beyond.

Today, the site of the long-gone Coles Cranes on the old Crown Works manufacture plant in Pallion is home to nothing other than some containers and brown land that's been empty for two decades.

But it could soon be a creative industry heartland, housing one of Europe's largest TV and film studios, creating the biggest jobs boost to the area since Nissan.

It's been years in the planning, with plans now in for planning consent and due to go before Sunderland City Council's planning department in the coming weeks.

However, the major milestone in this development progressing will be Wednesday's Budget. £450million of private investment has already been secured for Crown Works Studios but, if it is to go ahead, it needs an additional £200million over 10 years from Central Government.

As fingers cross ahead of the Budget on March 6, here's everything you need to know about the studios.

The land

The River Wear has long been the lifeblood of Sunderland industry, from centuries of glassmaking to shipbuilding, which made the then town a global leader.

Now, its south banks at Pallion could soon house one of the biggest filmmaking studios in Europe.

Anyone who's driven over the Northern Spire bridge will have passed the land earmarked for the development, which is to the left and right of the bridge.

The former Crown Works site - which the studios are named after - housed Coles Cranes for more than 50 years until its closure in 1998.

Previous to that, from 1917, the site was the home of Egis shipyard, which built a total of 34 ships before closing in 1930.

Henry Coles had started Coles Cranes in 1879. Steel & Co moved the crane production line to Sunderland in 1939 and named the site Crown Works, in recognition of the amount of Government works the expanded company was undertaking.

It became a bustling industrial heartland where thousands of cranes were manufactured before being exported around the world. Once Northern Spire was completed, the old stone plaque from the Crown Works head office building has been installed in a wall near the southern approach to the bridge at Pallion, to mark the history of the site.

The Scale

Crown Works Studios would cover 1.68m sq ft of land in three phases.

Once complete, it would house 20 premium sound stages suitable for major feature film and high end TV productions.

Small movies require only one or two sound stages, but a blockbuster would require three-four sound stages. 

As well as the sound stages, there would be a village of buildings to support the studios including production offices, a multi-storey car park and workshops.

It would also see the old Pallion Quay Building converted into a technical academy.

Jobs creation

It's anticipated that the studios would create 8,450 new jobs in the region. Whilst the studios would provide an important base for the film and TV industry, the bulk of the jobs would be in fields such as joinery, catering, security, make-up, plasterers, painters, metal workers and more.

The studios could also generate £334million for the local economy every year, with far-reaching benefits to hospitality and transport etc.

Who's behind it?

FulwellCain - a joint venture between global entertainment company Fulwell 73 and Cain International - and Sunderland City Council are spearheading the bid for the plans to go ahead.

Fulwell 73, founded by SAFC fans, is the hugely-successful production company behind shows such as The Kardashians, Sunderland 'Til I Die, The Late Late Show with James Corden and much more.

Such is their passion for Sunderland that they named their company after the old Fulwell end in Roker Park and the year the Black Cats won the FA Cup.

Cain International is a privately held investment firm with over $15 billion in managed assets.

When would it happen?

The application, which has been submitted to the local authority’s planning committee, sets out specific plans for phase one of the studios, with two further phases also submitted for outline consent.

It should go before the committee in the coming weeks. If planning consent is granted, and with Government backing, spades could be in the ground as soon as this year for the first phase, with the final phase set to be complete by 2027.

The brownfield site is already clear and the new build stages can be built in a matter of months.