Funding for Sunderland Crown Works film studios 'saved' in the Budget

The £25million in public cash needed to get Crown Works Studios off the ground was announced by the previous Government in Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Statement.

The ‘trailblazer’ deal saw the cash granted to the new North East Combined Authority (NECA), with North East Mayor Kim McGuinness and NECA members signing the funding over to the film studios project in July.

The completed development, which is being led by Sunderland ‘Til I Die producers Fulwell 73, is expected to create up to 8,450 jobs across the North East by 2033.

It is forecast that as the studio development and its supply chain grows over the next 10 years, it could add £2billion to the region’s economy. 

Today, Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves referenced the funding in her Budget statement in the House of Commons.

However, it sat among a number of less popular announcements which will see tax rises and spending reductions as the Government aims to balance the books to fill what it calls a ‘black hole’ left by the previous Conservative administration.

“For our world-leading creative industries, we will legislate to provide additional tax relief for visual effect costs in film and TV, and we are providing £25 million for the North East Combined Authority, which they plan to use to remediate the Crown Works Studio site in Sunderland, creating 8,000 new jobs,” the Chancellor told MPs.

Speaking after the Budget, Ms McGuinness claimed the news meant the film studios funding had been ‘saved’ - though it is uncertain if the Government would have been able to claw back the cash at this stage.

And Sunderland Conservatives poked fun at the remarks, suggesting Labour was claiming credit for a policy already confirmed by the Tories.

“I’m pleased the Treasury has listened to my calls to save the £25million investment in the Crown Works Studios, so we can unlock 8000 jobs and build a creative powerhouse on the banks of the River Wear,” said Ms McGuinness.

“That means jobs for people in a range of industries, from hairdressers, electricians, make up artists, to set designers and script writers.”

The Labour North East Mayor was in wider praise of the Budget and its impact for Sunderland and the region as a hole.

“Today’s Budget confirmed the biggest transfer of powers and resources from Westminster to the North East in a generation,” she said.

“The Chancellor has listened to my calls to back our region with a new integrated settlement, which means we as local leaders can invest in the priorities that matter to people in the North East.

“The Government is backing our plans to create manufacturing jobs in the North East, with investment in our car industry and potential in electric vehicles.”

She added: “Taken with new powers to help people back into work, the Budget means new jobs, new training, new homes and new opportunities for people in the North East.

“The first Labour Budget in 14 years will unravel Tory decay, give us the tools to tackle child poverty and put us on course to make the North East the home of real opportunity." 

However, not everyone in Sunderland was happy with the financial policies announced in the Budget.

Lib Dem councillor Paul Edgeworth, leader of the main opposition group on Sunderland City Council, said people in Wearside should feel ‘betrayed’ by what he called a combination of ‘tax hikes and cuts’ in the budget.

“This is nothing short of a new Labour age of austerity,” he said.

“The Chancellor’s political choices today will see huge cuts in budgets for Government departments and services, cuts to disability benefits, a 50% hike in the cost of bus fares and the continuation of the shameful cuts to winter fuel allowances.

“There was nothing about making it easier to get a GP or dentist appointment and the fine print suggests that local councils will only get more funding through Council Tax rises for hard-pressed local people.

“I fear that today’s pie-in-the-sky Budget will deliver nothing more than higher taxes and cuts in services from this Government.”

Councillor Dominic McDonough from Sunderland Conservatives said: "This is a disaster of a budget for Sunderland. We are building office blocks on the Vaux site that we need businesses to fill.

“Today has made it more expensive and more difficult to create jobs and made things worse for business.

“This is deeply worrying and Labour may have just destroyed our regeneration plans.

“The increase in employers national insurance makes it vastly more expensive to pay employees or hire them in the first place.

“A tax on jobs which will end in disaster and a rise in unemployment.

“This is a budget that could have been written by Jeremy Corbyn.

“Labour also announced £25million for the new film studio today.

“Problem is that this was announced by the last Government over six months ago.”