Agenda item

Gabrielle Lindemann, Kent Film Officer, and Tony Witton, Culture and Creative Economy Manager, were in attendance for this item

1.    Mr Hill introduced the report and highlighted the importance of the Kent Film Office (KFO) in promoting Kent and bringing increasing and significant sums of money into the Kent economy.

2.    Ms Lindemann showed a short video which included a range of scenes filmed in Kent facilitated by the KFO. Ms Lindemann said the last two years had seen an increase in money invested in the Kent economy, largely due to the loss of production at the beginning of the pandemic. Ms Lindemann highlighted some of the feature films and drama series where the KFO had facilitated filming over the last two years and gave an overview of the service and support the KFO were able to provide using the film, Empire of Light, filmed in Margate as an example.

3.    Ms Lindemann and Mr Witton responded to the following questions and comments from Members:

(a)  Asked about increased suburbanisation in Kent leading to a reduction in industrial spaces and protected sites, and KFO’s role in encouraging the preservation of vistas, Ms Lindemann said she was proactive in expressing the need to protect certain locations in Kent. Mr Witton said they worked with the Council’s planning teams and contributed to discussions on wider planning issues within Kent. The Chair suggested that the compilation of a list of popular vistas used by production companies could be used to influence local planning decisions and increase publicity of the issue, and Mr Hill agreed this could be given some consideration outside of the meeting.

(b)  Asked about KFO’s agreement with Thanet, Folkestone and Hythe, Canterbury, Swale and Dartford district councils in comparison to the remaining districts, Ms Lindemann said that the KFO had an agreement with all the districts in Kent, as well as Medway Borough Council, but the districts mentioned above had handed over filming entirely to the KFO, and were charged a commissioning fee, which meant permission from district councils to arrange and film in their district was not required. 

(c)  Asked about KFO’s involvement with the Ashford Film Studios development, Ms Lindemann said the KFO had provided support to the studios prior to planning permission being granted and opportunities for cross promotion between the two organisations had been discussed.  Mr Witton said the KFO would be an integral part of the new development by supporting the film studios with locations and crews.  The film studios also included an education facility which was likely to be run by East Kent College.

(d)  Asked whether KFO could promote the county as a tourist destination, Ms Lindemann said the KFO website currently had a movie map and trails for example a Dickens trail and Darling Buds of May trail.  Ms Lindemann said trails to promote film tourism would best be achieved through an app which provided visual interpretation between the location and how it was used on a film set.  Ms Lindemann said the KFO were continually looking out for innovative products of this kind to become available on the market.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.