Sky Studios denied Hertfordshire greenbelt expansion

TV company Sky cannot expand its studios into green belt land, councillors have ruled.

Hertsmere Borough Council's planning committee refused permission for an expansion of Sky Studios Elstree North in Hertfordshire.

A campaigner told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) the decision would "preserve the uniqueness" of Well End village.

Sky said it remained "committed" to expanding the studio site.

The site has previously hosted production teams working on Wicked, starring Ariana Grande, and Paddington in Peru.

Sky applied for permission for a 71,777 sq m (772,601 sq ft) extension to the north, between Rowley Lane and the A1 Barnet by.

The council refused permission for six votes to five at its meeting on Tuesday.

After the vote, Well End campaigner Julia Dunsford, said: "We've always said Sky is fantastic on its own, as long as it stayed there and we didn't want it to come any more, because it really starts to encroach on our lives.

"There are so many studios going up, a lot of new ones - Sunset in Waltham Cross, Warner Bros Studios Leavesden which is expanding, why does Sky need to go on the green belt":[]}