Filming Enquiries And Requests
COVID GUIDANCE UPDATE FROM CREATIVE ENGLAND- 19 July 2021
Step 4 in Covid-19 Roadmap: Covid-secure Film & TV Production Continues in England
England moved to the final stage of the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown on 19 July 2021, with Covid-19 legal restrictions ending. Whilst this means the adoption of production guidance is no longer mandatory, it is recommended that productions continue to operate as they have been doing, applying industry Covid-19 guidance in line with the production’s own Covid-19 protocols and risk assessment to provide an effective measure against both health and business continuity issues. The BFC’s incredibly rigorous ‘Working Safely During COVID-19 in Film and High-end TV Drama Production‘ guidance enabled our sector to restart swiftly and safely and remains in place. Practices are now established and followed by studios and productions, who all seek to prioritise the safety of cast, crew and public. In the long term, it is expected that productions will need to take fewer precautions to manage the risk of Covid-19 and guidance will be kept under review, and removed once it is safe to do so. Please visit our Covid-19 Production Guidance for further information and links to industry guidance or the Kent Partnership Filming Guidelines- COVID-19 Annexe .
PERMITS
For all traffic management & road closure requests, please go to our Filming in Kent – Highways page and apply with the downloadable application form at the bottom of that webpage
Please use the MAP PIN for all rural, beach or parks locations as these are often under multiple ownership and we need to ascertain your precise location within those areas.
During the school holidays (Thursday 22nd July – Wednesday 1st September 2021) SOME KENT BEACHES AND MAJOR ATTRACTIONS ARE NOT AVAILABLE FOR FILMING due to increased demand.Please contact Kent Film Office on Filmoffice@kent.gov.uk early with your requests to avoid disappointments.
For all other filming permits, requests and enquiries, please APPLY HERE
Guidance
Lead Times
These lead-in times are to ensure that you are able to film in your first-choice location as areas you apply for may already be pre-booked, have scheduled roadworks or are in need of additional permits as they are privately owned.
We are usually able to turn permits round in shorter time frames but cannot guarantee this.
- For minimal filming we need 2-3 working days’ notice.
- For mid-sized productions or when using special equipment like drones 3-5 days are usually required.
- For larger filming events we ask for at least 8-10 days as these require residents’ letters to be distributed by production at least 6 days prior to filming.
For timeframes for dispensations, traffic management and road closures, please consult our Highways Filming page.
Fees
We do not charge for filming on the public highway maintained by kent Highway services unless Traffic management or Road Closures are required but reserve the right to administer a £50 +VAT admin charge if the permit has to be changed more than once for reasons other than sickness or bad weather.
Other public spaces, such as parks, greens, beaches, squares etc. will incur filming charges which vary between local authorities.
Below is merely a rough a guide to the fee structure for non-promotional commercial filming on council owned and KFO managed land:
- Filming for MINIMAL documentary/factual crews with local contributors or when promoting the area to the visitor economy are free of charge.
- Under 10 people – MINIMAL – from £150+VAT per day
- 10-15 people – from £250 + VAT per day
- 15-25/30 people – from £500 +VAT per day
- 25/30 + people – from £1000 +VAT per day
- 60/70+ people or for exclusive use from £1500 +VAT
All to be discussed with Kent Film Office and based on level of service required and disruption caused.
For fees relating to Traffic Management and Road Closures please consult our Highways Filming page.
Parking
In some district authorities we can arrange parking in council owned car parks. Production will have to display permits in windscreens and do their own coning as we cannot reserve these spaces.
The fees for this vary, but as a guide, there will be a £50+VAT admin change to issue permits and inform the officers plus compensation for any paid bays used at the regular tariff.
Unit base parking, where it is possible in council managed car parks start from £350+VAT and are dependant on size of the unit
This is currently possible in the districts of Dover, Canterbury and Thanet.
Contact Us
The Kent Film Office is usually open Mon – Friday from 09:00 – 17:00.
Gabrielle Lindemann, Kent Film Officer
Kent Film Office
2nd Floor Invicta House, County Hall, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1XX
Email us at filmoffice@kent.gov.uk
03000422000
