Developers withdraw bid for Twickenham Film Studios (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Property developers Taylor Wimpey withdraw bid for Twickenham Film Studios

4:50pm Friday 20th April 2012 in Richmond News Exclusive By Rachel Bishop

A property developer has withdrawn its bid for Twickenham Film Studios because it said it wants to give film consortiums a chance to buy and maintain the site.

Members of the Save Twickenham Film Studios campaign said they were delighted with Taylor Wimpey's announcement but were aware that the fight to save the studios, which played host to classics including Alfie and The Italian Job, was not over.

Campaign leader Maria Walker said: “The CEO has agreed to back-off to give it a chance to be kept as a studio.

“We have won the battle; the fight is still not over.

“We want to get the message to a developer that does think they can get in – we will fight. In fact if anything, the campaign is growing, so it has not gone away.”

David Brown, regional land and planning director for Taylor Wimpey, said the company had explored a number of opportunities to redevelop the site and believed the studios, in the Barons, St Margarets, were not viable in there current form.

He said: “We have recently been advised that a number of potential bids have come forward to run the studios as a going concern. Should these bids be successful we consider this to be the most preferable option.

"As a responsible developer who is committed to working with the local community and stakeholders, we have decided to formally withdraw our bid for this site.”