FulwellCain Studios, a joint venture between global entertainment company Fulwell 73 and Cain International, aims to build the £475m Crown Works Studios on land stretching up from Pallion Shipyard on the banks of the river Wear.
The approved hybrid application sets out specific plans for phase one of the studios, with two further phases receiving outline consent.
Work on the scheme is set to start this year with the final phase set to complete by 2027.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt earlier this month committed to help fund the scheme with £25m worth of initial funding to develop the riverside site
In all, the development will deliver around 1.7m sq ft film industry hub at Pallion with 20 sound stages suitable for major feature film and HETV productions.
Crown Works – named after the former shipyard that once stood on the site – will be transformational for the city’s economy, cultivating an eco-system on a scale not seen since Nissan’s investment in Sunderland in the 1980s, while meeting the growing demand for studio space in the UK.
First phase development
Phase 1 will deliver around 360,000 sq ft. This will be spread across four sound stages, with a production office attached to each, six production support workshop buildings, a gateway building, a 350 space multi-storey car park, a substation and waste centre and ancillary infrastructure.