'D-Day' coming for government to back Sunderland film studio plans

The global entertainment company behind the plans to bring the £450m Crown Works film studio to Sunderland, says the government now has a "deadline" to make it happen.

Sunderland-born Leo Pearlman, managing partner of Fulwell73, says that the government has to take action, 'rather than just say they will', no later than March 6.

This is just three weeks away, when the UK budget is announced by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

FulwellCain, a joint venture between Fulwell 73 and Cain International, alongside Sunderland City Council is spearheading a bid to gain approval for the hugely ambitious project.

Mr Pearlman says significant private investment has been secured, but the project still needs serious government backing to make it work.

So far that has not happened, despite the benefits supporters say would come of it including 8,500 new jobs, £334m annually for the local economy and the creation of one of Europe's biggest studios on the site of the former Pallion shipyard.

Speaking to an audience at The Fire Station to launch the new series of Sunderland 'Til I Die on Netflix, produced by Fulwell73, Mr Pearlman spoke passionately about the plans and urged the public, media and politicians to support them.

He emphasised that the whole of the North East would benefit.

He said: "The best examples of when it works in this industry is when there's a partnership between public and private.

"On the private side, we've worked very hard to put together the plan, the package, the investment side.

"We need that government support to build towards those 8,500 new jobs for the region. We're hoping that they seize the opportunity; that they grasp it.

"It would be, to my mind, the first time they have done so since Nissan in the 80s, which remarkably they still harp back to as their last great achievement here - and we're effectively handing them their next one.

"March 6 is the next budget and as far as we're concerned the deadline for when the government has to step up and actually do something, rather than just say they will.

"If they do, then we'll be looking to break ground on the project in the summer.

"The impact of this will go far and wide. It will go far beyond just Sunderland. The 8,500 jobs will be across the region. No doubt about it, this will regenerate the North East and Sunderland is going to be at the very centre."

He urged the audience: "Make as much noise as possible. Whether it's local MPs, local councillors, whether it's online, social media, wherever it is - just go out and let everyone know how much this means and how much it means to the region and the next generation."