Currently reading: Hollywood may join MG at Longbridge
Hollywood theme park reported to be eyeing up Longbridge site

Parts of MG's old Longbridge car plant could be sold off and turned into a Hollywood film studio.

According to reports in the Daily Telegraph, the site has been earmarked as a replacement studio for the Pinewood site.

The news follows South Buckinghamshire Council rejection of Pinewood Shepperton's plans for a 100-acre site on green belt land in the county.

The film firm's £200m 'Project Pinewood' site would have included nearly 1500 homes, a school, a theatre, cinema and sport facilities.

However, the planned development would not affect MG Rover's current car plant.

"The piece of land being looked at by the film studio is seaparate to the current car plant, and is now owned by developers," said an MG spokesman. "There is certainly enough room there for them to develop their plans, and here for us to continue with our planned expansiom.

"Having the iconic brands of MG and Hollywood side by side would be quite exciting."

The campaign for Longbridge to house Hollywood studios has been backed by Birmingham politicians. Birmingham Northfield MP Richard Burden, said: "The creative industries is an area in the regional economic strategy that we feel the West Midlands can excel at.

"There are not many places big enough to do this but Longbridge is available. Everyone has heard of it so people would know where the site was.

"It would have to be looked into, but in principle it is very interesting."

Gisela Stuart, Labour MP for Edgbaston, added: "I think it would be a fantastic idea to have a huge new film set in the city.

"It would create jobs, and be good for the creative industries here.

"Such a project would also get people from all over the world to come here and they'd see for themselves just how much Birmingham has to offer."

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Peter Cavellini 23 October 2009

Re: MG's Longbridge may be sold

It's a crying shame for longbridge, i really do, but trying to sell an aging design to a market full of more,well better designed cars was shear folly.Yes a recession reared it's ugly head a the wrong time, but when taking over an ailing company you've got to have something new to bring too market, haven't you?, the Chinese obviously didn't, they thought a nip here, a tuck there and the cars would sell themselves, wrong!.No, as i've said before it's a shame, but being short sighted has closed this factory for good, the government should hang their collective heads in shame.