A bid to lure more Hollywood-style productions to Perthshire has been bolstered by the owners of an historic estate.
Developers behind ambitious plans for a huge film studio in Midlothian are considering a team-up with the Abercairny Estate, near Crieff.
It is hoped the 10,000-acre estate could be offered to production crews as locations for major film or TV projects.
The Pentland Studios scheme involves the creation of a vast complex with six sound stages near Edinburgh. The whole venture hinges on crucial backing from the Scottish Government.
Development director Jim O’Donnell said Abercairney’s lochs, woodland, mansion house and walled garden could be ideal for outdoor shoots.
“We are in quite advanced talks with the Abercairney Estate at the moment,” he said. “We’re working up a partnership agreement where we would invest money to create the basic infrastructure and utilities required by film and television crews to make it more attractive for anyone to shoot there.
“We will still have two backlots for outdoor filming, but the idea would be that if someone was using Pentland Studios and wanted to have a couple of days of location shooting with a Highland backdrop, then that is where they would go.
“It has lochs, glens, mountains, moors, trees and even standing stones.”
A spokeswoman for Abercairney Estates said: “We can confirm we are in discussions with Pentland Studios Ltd over potential filming opportunities.”
The estate is the seat of the Moray family and Murray clan and has links with William Wallace and Queen Victoria.
Last week, a seminar in Perth heard calls for the Scottish Government to take urgent action to capitalise on the screen sector.
Senior location scout David Taylor – who organised filming for the Brad Pitt blockbuster World War Z in Glasgow – said that the Pentland Studios project would have a “dramatic effect” on the industry and offer major economic benefits across the country.
