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Dragon International Film Studios, also known as Valleywood, is a complex of film and television studios at Llanilid in Wales, United Kingdom about 5 miles from Bridgend, 14 miles (23 kilometres) from the Welsh capital, Cardiff. The project was developed by the consortium Dragon International Studios, chaired by Richard Attenborough. The project has been nicknamed "Valleywood" as an homage to Hollywood, in the manner of other Hollywood-inspired names such as Dollywood or Bollywood. ==Construction== The construction of a film studio in south Wales was first proposed in 2001, with two developers, Fairfield Properties and Westair Properties backing the production of a 350-acre site in Llanilid near Bridgend. The Welsh Assembly government at first objected the plans, unhappy with proposals to link the studios to the M4 motorway by building a new junction to connect the site. Discussions in October 2002 between the Assembly and Rhondda Cynon Taf local council, Assembly member Pauline Jarman and the consortium behind the bid resolved the issues.〔 Agreements were reached that any new access links to the M4 would only occur if a percentage of the development was completed and the construction of a theme park, which was part of a "Phase 2" of the plans. The initial proposals had an estimated budget of £350m, rising to a cost of £1bn after the completion of a screen academy and the theme park. Lord Attenborough, who was the chair of Dragon International Studios Limited, promised the studio would create 1,700 local jobs, with the local council believing a further 6,000 jobs would be created from a proposed adjacent development by the Villard Partnership, which planned to build hotels, a conference centre, health spa and a new hospital. Due to the collapse of heavy industry in south Wales over the previous decades, the development, itself built on the site of a former open-cast coal mine, was seen by those involved as a major economic boost to an area with high unemployment.〔〔 The following year, despite approved planning and a proposed completion date of 2004, no work had commenced at the site. The then chief executive of Dragon International Studios, Steve Villard, accused the Welsh Assembly of holding up the project through failing to approve grants needed to begin construction and threatened to move the whole project to a rival site in Newport. The government's response was to state that they gave assistance to cases that provided "truly viable business case".〔 In August 2004 commencement of work was finally declared.〔 In early 2005, with no buildings complete, work was delayed again after dormice, a protected species in Britain, were found on the site. Despite Lord Attenborough's belief that the studio would be completed by 2004, a hold up in a grant meant that by May 2005 work at Llanilid had not commenced. In July 2005 work again halted when the firm was found not to have the necessary permits to carry out sewage works. This was followed by further delays when bad weather hampered progress until March 2006. Six years after the project was first proposed and nearly four years after planning permission was granted, construction work started on the first phase of the scheme in August 2007. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Dragon International Film Studios」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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