{"id":591970,"date":"2026-08-13T11:38:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T11:38:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/591970\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T11:38:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T11:38:14","slug":"if_do-wins-approval-for-film-hub-at-listed-hertfordshire-mansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/591970\/","title":{"rendered":"IF_DO wins approval for film hub at listed Hertfordshire mansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

Langleybury Mansion is already a prolific filming location, with its interior featuring in more than 100 productions, including Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation, The Crown and Downton Abbey<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Although IF_DO\u2019s scheme, for a green-belt site, was originally submitted to Three Rivers District Council in 2022, it only received the final rubber stamp this month following a lengthy Section 106 negotiation.<\/p>\n

The proposed facilities in new and existing buildings aim to improve film production at the site, providing workshops, office space, sound stages and a caf\u00e9.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other interventions will include a replacement children\u2019s farm and car park as well as 1,145m of new public footpaths and 2,194m of cycle paths, 500m of which will be open to the public.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Conservation architect Donald Insall Associates has advised on the works, which include repairs and upgrades to the mansion and its outbuildings. The plans also include a training facility for students hoping to enter the industry in the place of the \u2018dilapidated and imposing vacant\u2019 secondary school.<\/p>\n

The scheme will improve biodiversity across the site, with the planting of native trees and the creation of grazing land and water meadow, leading to a 28 per cent net gain in habitat units, 85 per cent in hedgerow units, 103 per cent in river units.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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IF_DO\u2019s consented plans for a film production centre and upgrades to Langley Mansion in Hertfordshire<\/p>\n

Source: Secchi Smith \/ IF_DO<\/p>\n

Langleybury was built from 1725 for Lord Chief Justice Robert Raymond, according to the National Heritage List for England<\/a>, before being altered and remodelled in the 1860s for the high sheriff of Hertfordshire William Jones Lloyd.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was extended again in the 1890s for his son Edward Henry Lloyd, who also served as high sheriff of Hertfordshire. The building features red brick with stone and stucco dressings and slate roofs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some locals had criticised the proposals, calling them \u2018overdevelopment\u2019, while in 2024, the council\u2019s historic environment team said the scheme\u2019s positive elements were \u2018undermined by the harmful aspects\u2019 and that it would have \u2018an industrialising impact\u2019 on the site.<\/p>\n

In a letter from April that year, headed historic buildings and conservation advice, the team wrote: \u2018This proposal would replace the existing, unsympathetic structures with a development of a vastly greater scale and extent. The proposed development would also be architecturally incongruous within the rural, pastoral and parkland setting of the heritage assets.\u2019<\/p>\n

Some amendments were made to the scheme that summer.<\/p>\n

Following the council\u2019s recent sign-off, IF_DO director Sarah Castle said the planning approval marked a \u2018significant milestone\u2019, adding: \u2018We\u2019re incredibly excited to see this vision come to life \u2013 a thriving creative hub that not only bolsters the region\u2019s film industry and provides opportunities for local people, but also enhances the surrounding landscape.<\/p>\n

\u2018What makes this project special is the collaborative spirit of our team, whose shared vision has embraced both creative innovation and responsible stewardship through biodiversity, sustainability and thoughtful design, crafting what we believe will be a fitting legacy for the Langleybury Estate.\u2019<\/p>\n

Donald Insall practice director and head of heritage consultancy London, Cordula Zeidler, said: \u2018Heritage sites need to continue evolving. Repairing and enhancing Langleybury Mansion and its outbuildings will allow them to continue operating as a desirable film location, and this ensures that the site can continue its legacy.\u2019<\/p>\n

She added that the \u2018thoughtful masterplan\u2019 and the introduction of \u2018vital support structures [would] add another significant layer to the cultural offering of this important site\u2019.<\/p>\n

The first construction works will begin on the new children\u2019s farm.<\/p>\n

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IF_DO\u2019s consented plans for a film production centre and upgrades to Langley Mansion in Hertfordshire<\/p>\n

Source: IF_DO<\/p>\n

Project Team<\/p>\n

Client Ralph Trustees
Architect and masterplanner IF_DO
Planning consultant, EIA, socio-economics and archaeology\u00a0Lichfields
Film and TV industry consultant Location Collective
Project management Mace
Landscape architect Define
Heritage consultant and conservation architect\u00a0Donald Insall Associates
Ecology consultant Nicholsons
Sustainability and water management Expedition
Building services Anderson Green
Transport consultant\u00a0Caneparo
Arboricultural consultant\u00a0FLAC
Lighting Strenger
Noise, air quality, climate change and resilience, ground conditions, soils Wardell Armstrong
Planning reference 22\/1945\/FUL<\/p>\n

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Masterplan overview<\/p>\n

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