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Rayner urged to approve Marlow film studios in test of Labour planning policy

Inquiry into plan backed by director James Cameron begins after council rejected it over use of green-belt land

On the first day of the month-long public inquiry into the application, which will provide the report and a recommendation to Rayner, the counsel for the project immediately characterised the ultimate decision as a test of Labour’s commitment to grow the UK creative industries. White pointed to Labour’s sweeping reforms to planning, announced last year, including ordering councils to review their green-belt boundaries by identifying lower quality “grey belt” land that could be built on. The legal team representing Buckinghamshire council, and a lawyer for campaign groups including Save Marlow, argued that the developers’ forecasts of future booming growth in the UK production industry are unfounded.

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