Llanilid aka Valleywood
Although meant to be in use by 2004, the start of construction on Valleywood has been delayed due to a variety of environmental concerns surrounding animals and sewers. But it now looks like everybody has the green light for construction of the £300 film studio action set to be built on the old coal mining site near Brigend. At the moment, work is scheduled to begin around August 13th (the first stage contract has gone to Dawnus (corr) Construction) with the first phase of the project to open sometime in early summer of 2008.
The projected employee base upon completion will be around 1,700, says Dragon International Studios. Not surprisingly, all the local politicians had encouraging comments about the benefits to and feelings of the community. Plaid AM Chris Franks commented: “I urge developers to have a policy of local recruitment. This would be very welcome in communities in need of work.” I hope they listen!
The large silent sound stages included in the first phase of the project will number five and a relief road will also be constructed to help ease potential traffic congestion to and from the site. Although planned, an M4 junction at Brigend for the studio will not be built until much later in the process - that remains a few years down the road.
Related Stories
BBC Story from 2005
Wikipedia Entry on Valleywood