SCOTLAND should have its first major film studio next year after Pentland Film Studios confirmed yesterday that they are making progress in talks with Midlothian Council over the planned £250 million complex at Straiton, south of Edinburgh.

Pentland Film Studios (PFS) also confirmed that they are confident that Pinewood Studios will become the studio operator despite the departure of chief executive Ivan Dunleavy, who was a supporter of the Straiton plan, and no contact from the new ownership of the Pinewood Group since the James Bond studio company was taken over and turned into a private firm six months ago.

The National has also learned that the tenant farmer on whose land much of the complex will be built, Jim Telfer, is to go to mediation over his case to stay on the land, and we can reveal that PFS have rejigged their plans to allow the Telfers to stay in their home.

Early last month the Scottish Government overruled Midlothian Council and its own planning inquiry reporter to say they were “minded to grant” planning permission for the film and television studio complex which also includes a power plant, a hotel, film studio and student accommodation.

As the Government is “minded to grant” planning permission, PFS has six months to negotiate a planning application in detail with the local authority and if Midlothian Council does not reach an agreement with the developers, the application will be called back in by the Government.

Sources at Midlothian Council and PFS have confirmed that talks have already begun between the local authority and the developer, with a possible sticking point understood to be the so-called A701 “bypass” relief road which was supposed to go through the land on which the studio complex is to be built.

The National understands that a solution has also been found for that problem, and in any case, Midlothian Council has yet to state if and when the relief road will be built. The creation of the studio and associated development is expected to create hundreds of jobs both in construction and permanently in the complex, which PFS sources emphasise will be purpose-built as state-of-the-art production facilities and not be converted from former factories as is the case with other studios.

Scotland has already lost out on many film projects because of the lack of a major studio, and the timing is crucial for PFS as long-term contracts for film production have meant that there is a lack of studio space in the UK at present. Pentland director Jim O’Donnell last night confirmed that Pinewood Group had not been in touch with PFS since the takeover but emphasised that the group, which has film studios in England, Wales, Canada, the US, Dominican Republic and Malaysia, was waiting for PFS to conclude the planning process – a document from Pinewood formed part of the original planning application. O’Donnell said: “We have signed non-disclosure agreements with Pinewood and I would expect that our next contact will be once we have secured planning permission.”

A spokesperson for Pinewood Group said: “We don’t actually have any comment at this time.”