OMA Studio One, Enfield

from July 2020

 

 

In June 2020 came an announcement that probably surprised many in the industry – London was about to have available some ‘new’ film and TV studios later in the summer.  In fact, they were claimed to be London’s largest – which I suppose is true if you don’t count Pinewood, Shepperton or Leavesden.  These studios have 87,500 sq ft of shooting space.

Although advertised as being in Enfield, the site is actually in Waltham Cross, not far from the junction of the M25 and the A10 Great Cambridge Road, which is also the location of the new Sunset Studios.  The studio’s address is One Mollison Avenue – the abbreviation OMA was used at first and I’m told that the name just stuck.

 

the interior of one of the very large stages

 

The studio includes 4 soundproofed stages, converted from an existing industrial depot.  According to the plans on the OMA website the stages are as follows:  Stage A – 28,750 sq ft;  Stage B – 21,700 sq ft;  Stage C – 16,800 sq ft;  Stage D – 20,000 sq ft.  These are all very large, compared with what is on offer in some other studios.  Their heights range from 33-39ft.  There are also 3 workshops totalling 19,000 sq ft, 2 stores of 3,000 sq ft and 12,500 sq ft of office space.  The site has a large goods yard and plenty of parking.  The stages, workshops and offices are all within one very large building.

The Location Collective is the company behind this – they had been working with Enfield Council to obtain the necessary permissions and had been converting the building to make it suitable for filming over several months.  The new Covid-19 regulations had of course affected this but the studios have incorporated all the necessary changes enabling filming to happen as soon as possible.

These studios are a very welcome addition to the resources available around London.  They are suitable for high-end drama and low budget features but multicamera TV entertainment shows are not expected to use these facilities.

 

Credits for OMA Studio One and OMA Studio X include:

Slow Horses seasons 1, 2 & 3, Invasion season 2, Silo, The Essex Serpent, Suspicion, Bad Sisters, Trying seasons 2 & 3 and Liaison (all for Apple TV+) and The Strays (for Netflix.)  Silo season 3 began filming here in the autumn of 2024.  A fourth season has been confirmed.