Bottle Yard Council refuses again to reveal if film studio turns profit

BRISTOL City Council has again refused to reveal whether the council-owned Bottle Yard Studios makes a profit for council taxpayers - and if so, how much - as the future and governance of the biggest film and TV studios in the South West is under scrutiny once more.

- Tristan CORK

Benedict Cumberbatch filming an episode of Sherlock at Bottle Yard Studios in 2015

The city council this month declined a Freedom of Information request from investigative journalist and council transparency campaigner Andrew Lynch, who asked the council to publish even the most rudimentary financial figures connected to the Bottle Yard's operations.

The studios in Hengrove, in particular how much they cost to run and their future, have been in the spotlight over the past year or so. The previous Labour administration began the process of reviewing whether the studios should be sold, mainly because it is understood the facility requires multi-million-pound investment over the next few years to keep its place as a popular and much-used film studio.

The new Green Party-led administration pressed ahead with plans to sell but earlier this year announced that a deal with a buyer had fallen through and the council would be going back to the drawing board with regards to the future of the studios.

Councillors were told that just the process of marketing the Bottle Yard for sale and then the ultimately failed negotiations had cost taxpayers £430,000.