Another guest blog this time from our event support officer Sue Campbell. Earlier in the year I spoke about the importance of filming here but it’s far better coming straight from the source:

Filming in the area, whether it be for a TV commercial or a Hollywood blockbuster, brings with it the type of publicity that no amount of money can buy.

There are great benefits throughout the local tourism industry and the economy, as history has proved.

When Alnwick Castle doubled as Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in the Harry Potter blockbuster movies, the town attracted worldwide attention from fans of the books and films.

Visitor numbers soared. There was a multi-million pound boost to the local economy and even local house prices were reported to be on the rise. Even after all these years, the stories still continue to draw people to the area.

More recently, ITV’s major new mystery drama Vera, which was filmed in Northumberland – has quickly established itself as a flagship part of ITV’s drama line up. Millions of viewers tuned in to see the series which took place at some stunning locations around the county including – Toddlemoor, Linhope Spout, Corbridge, Thrum Rock, Dunstanburgh Castle and Holy Island.

In 2010 Northumberland County Council signed the Filming Friendly Charter with Northern Film & Media (NFM), committing the authority to support and encourage location filming in the county.

It is our joint aim to make filming in the region quicker, easier and cheaper – and ultimately more attractive for production companies to shoot here.

Around £7 million is spent in the region every year by visiting production companies. This translates to almost £20,000 a day spent in our restaurants, hotels and shops; on crew, facilities and services.

The Council gets regular calls from production companies looking to film in the area and we work closely with Northern Film & Media to set up locations and arrange access to highways and buildings.

With ancient castles, stunning heritage coastline, a rugged national park and quaint villages and market towns, Northumberland can rival any film location in the country.

A string of recent film and TV successes have boosted the North East’s production credentials and with blockbusters such as Atonement and Harry Potter under its belt, the region has proved it can handle the biggest and the best film productions in the world.

The local news also picked up on the story here