New film office opens in Staffordshire

The Staffordshire County Council has launched a new film and television office with an ambition of making the region a prime location for film production.

The office was launched last week at a celebration event at Hoar Cross Hall, East Staffordshire.

Screen Staffordshire welcomed over 120 guests from across the county and beyond to share more about its purpose, aims and ambitions to make Staffordshire a prime location for film and television production.

Funding for Screen Staffordshire was secured by We Are Staffordshire, with Staffordshire County Council investing £300,000 in the three-year pilot programme.

Jonny Shelton, the film office manager, was appointed in December 2024 and brings extensive experience in UK film and television, including roles at Filming in England and the Production Guild of Great Britain.

Film and TV production will help raise Staffordshire’s profile on the national and international stage and play a part in growing the county’s economy.

The film and TV production industry contributed £5.6bn to the UK economy in 2024.

It is one of the most shot countries in the world, and the outputs of the sector are an enormous source of soft power on a global stage.

According to tourism figures, the average day visitor to Staffordshire spends an average of £50, meaning just 6,000 additional tourist day trips would see a return on investment for the three-year pilot.

Since January 2025, productions that the film office have supported in Staffordshire have generated over £425,000 for the local economy.

Screen Staffordshire will provide a single point of contact for production enquiries – providing information on locations, local support businesses and facilities, general advice and speed up application processes.

Martin Murray, Staffordshire County Council’s deputy leader and cabinet member for Economy and Skills welcomed guests to the event.

He said: “It was a pleasure to attend the launch. This is a hugely exciting project for Staffordshire – enabling us to further showcase the fantastic places we have in the county, generate jobs and support our economic growth.

“I’m passionate about our wonderful county and showcasing everything that we have to offer here. This will help in making Staffordshire the beating heart of the country.”

The event also included speeches from We Are Staffordshire’s Place Board Chair, Hannah Ault DL, Head of Place Marketing, Louisa Shaw and Jonny Shelton.

Oscar nominee and founder of Burton-upon-Trent based Making Trails Tilley Bancroft chaired a panel featuring local producer Debbie Aston, Chillington Hall’s Claire Dolman and Filming in England’s Chelsea Foster.

Screen Staffordshire’s purpose is to bring more film and TV to the county, both proactively and reactively.

When productions shoot on location, they bring an immense number of benefits to the locality. Local film and TV production also creates a real opportunity to generate film tourism, which brings in hundreds of millions of pounds a year.

According to national Filming in England statistics, seven out of ten tourists have visited a location used in film or TV whilst on a leisure trip to the UK, and nine out of ten would consider it – bringing hundreds of millions of pounds into our economy every year.

The film office has already been working to support endeavours around tourism, having shot short films at both Weston Park and World of Wedgwood as part of Visit Britain’s #StarringGreatBritain campaign earlier in 2025.

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Pictured from left to right: Louise Shaw and Louisa Shaw from We Are Staffordshire, Martin Murray and Jonny Shelton.