Emmerdale

Popular continuing drama ‘Emmerdale’ is filmed at the Emmerdale Village Production Set, Harewood Estate and Kirkstall Road Studios, Leeds.

The Emmerdale Village Production Set is located on land at the Harewood Estate, south of Weardley, Leeds. The original purpose-built set has been in-situ since 1997 and has developed over the last 30-years of operation. The set has temporary planning consent, time limited to 3^rd June 2027.

ITV Studios Ltd are currently preparing two planning applications for the continued use of the Emmerdale Production Set and Visitor Tour operations at the existing site.

Lambert Smith Hampton are appointed as planning agents for both planning applications.

ITV PLC has two core business pillars: Media and Entertainment (M&E)  which operates the UK’s largest family of free-to-air commercial channels (including ITV1 and ITV2) and a streaming service, ITVX. ITV Studios creates, produces and sells television programmes around the world.

ITV Studios is the applicant for this proposal. 

It operates more than 30 production companies based across the UK that create programmes for ITV as well as the other major broadcasters. This includes the long-running soaps Emmerdale and Coronation Street (produced in Leeds and Manchester), as well as University Challenge and Line of Duty for the BBC, and Countdown and Come Dine with Me for Channel 4. 

It is also responsible for bringing ITV’s famous brands to life through live fan experiences—including public set tours, attractions, and official merchandise—which play a vital role in supporting local tourism and regional economic growth.

Original temporary planning consent for the site was granted in June 1997 (planning application reference 30/016596/FU).

An application to renew the original temporary consent was approved in December 2009 (planning application reference 06/04908/FU). The renewal enabled production and filming operations to continue temporarily on-site until 3^rd June 2027.

The overarching planning consent operates in tandem with several additional planning consents, all of which are time limited to 3rd June 2027.

Burden Head Farm to the north-west of the site was recently restored and altered. These buildings are permanent in nature however they do not form part of the current temporary production consent.

Temporary planning consent was granted in March 2016 for the ancillary visitor tours attraction which is also time limited to 3^rd June 2027 (planning application reference 14/07446/FU).

The site is located on the Harewood Estate, to the south of Weardley, east of Eccup Lane and west of Harewood House.

The site area of the Emmerdale Village Production Set application is 12.3ha which is approximately 40% less than the current temporary consent site area of 19.8ha.

A copy of the Site Location Plan can be found here:  

Site Location Plan

The site includes three main ‘as-built’ areas, consisting of:

• Emmerdale Village
• Stub House Farm and Facilities Building
• Burden Head Farmstead

A copy of the layout plans for each of the three areas can be found here:

Emmerdale Village Block Plan - Area 1

Emmerdale Village Block Plan - Area 2

Stub House & Facilities Block Plan

Burden Head Block Plan

The site consists of a mixture of existing temporary buildings associated with the existing Emmerdale Production Set, permanent agricultural buildings and open greenfield land. 

The site access will remain from Eccup Lane west of the site for both applications. The formal access point is the most southern of the two access points into the site, south of Burden Head Farm. The northern access remains available as an emergency access point. 

Production Set

The long running Emmerdale continuing drama, produced by ITV Studios Ltd, is part filmed at Emmerdale Village Production Set at the Harewood Estate and part filmed at ITV’s Leeds Studio at Kirkstall Road. ITV Studios Ltd plan to submit a planning application for the continued production and use of erected structures, access and infrastructure. 

The proposed planning application seeks to enable the continued production of Emmerdale. The Emmerdale Village Production Set has been in situ since the original consent was granted in 1997.

A flexibly worded condition will be proposed as part of the future Emmerdale Village Production Set planning application for small-scale developments required for the production process on-site. The developments will be limited to the three built-up areas on-site (Burden Head, Stub House and Facilities, and Emmerdale Village) and on areas of existing hardstanding. Area, height and location restrictions will be set out to ensure development is appropriate in landscape, heritage, Biodiversity Net Gain and drainage terms. 

Visitor Tours Application

The Emmerdale Visitor Tour currently provides an exciting opportunity for fans to experience the Emmerdale Village Production Set and to see how the cast and production team use the set. ITV Studios Ltd are seeking permanent planning permission to continue and enhance the visitor tours with car parking now available on site for visitors. The ancillary Emmerdale Visitor Tour is proposed to operate on a weekend (to include a Saturday, Sunday and some Bank Holidays).

Following ongoing liaison with local residents and Councillors regarding coaches on the local highway, in line with the current temporary consent, ITV Studios Ltd commissioned a Transport Appraisal to review several options for visitors to suitably access the visitor tour. Therefore, ITV Studios Ltd propose an alternative application through the upgrade of the existing production car park located at the existing facilities building, to allow visitor vehicles to park on site and remove any requirement for coaches on the local highway.

The application will utilise an existing on site track to avoid car movements over the on-site bridleway (Bridleway 18 Harewood) on a weekend. An Access Management Plan will accompany the submission of the planning application. 

The Applicant has commissioned a package of technical and design information which will support both planning applications. These works are currently ongoing. 

The following reports are being prepared and will be submitted in support of both or each planning application, where relevant: 

• A Transport Assessment will assess the potential impact of both proposed developments. Additionally Travel Plans are evidence based with a long-term management focus which will also be submitted, in order to promote sustainable development.

• A Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA), BNG Metric and BNG Assessment will be prepared and submitted in support of both future applications. The Ecological Appraisal will identify any habitats and species on the site, will evaluate their importance and provide guidance to mitigate any potential impacts of the proposed developments.

• The BNG Metric and Assessment will assess the baseline biodiversity of the site and confirm the proposed Emmerdale Village Production Set application meets a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain in line with the Environment Act (2021). 

• A Green Belt Assessment will evaluate how the land performs against Green Belt principles set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

• A Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment (LVIA) will assess the impact of the proposed developments on the landscape and its visual amenity.

• A Flood Risk and Drainage Assessment, these reports will assess the flood risk of the site and proposed drainage strategy. The site is located within Flood Zone 1. 

• A Tree Survey will identify the types of trees on site, their condition and importance.

• A Heritage Assessment will identify any heritage assets on or near to the site and how the proposed development any impacts from the proposed development. 

The planning application will be supported by several documents which set out the design and technical details of the proposals. The submission package will be relevant to each of the proposals.

Social

• The filming set proposal aims to retain and improve the Emmerdale Village Production Set, which helps encourage viewers to positively engage with their own woodland environments in terms of physical and mental well-being and climate change.
• The proposals serve to promote the local area and wider Yorkshire region, bringing it national attention, through its cultural and social reference points, and setting within a Yorkshire landscape. This generates social benefits through the promotion of the region and its cultural assets.
• The continuation of the production set would allow volunteering opportunities to continue. Staff working at the Emmerdale Village Production Set often volunteer with trusts and charities to benefit the local community. In 2024, 61 volunteers made up of Emmerdale staff volunteered to support the local community.

Economic

• The production set application would continue to deliver 558 direct jobs (383 full time equivalent), and 115 full time equivalent indirect jobs.
• The production set application would continue to deliver 77 full time jobs in the wider economy.
• The production set application would produce £38.1 million Gross Added Value.
• The ancillary visitor tours directly supports 32 people employed on-site by the operator Continuum to operate the tour on a Saturday and Sunday and 15 ITV staff involved in the management and operation of the visitor tour .
• The new production car park model represents an approximate 15% increase in gross earnings for staff and the creation of 7 on site new roles.
• The proposed developments would attract national and international visitors to the area.
• The proposed developments would boost spending across Leeds and West Yorkshire.
• The proposed developments would allow work experience opportunities to continue. Emmerdale has an established track record of providing work experience opportunities as part of its wider commitment to skills development. In 2025, the production offered 27 work experience placements, and a further 8 placements have already been provided to date in 2026.
• The proposals serve to diversify the rural economy and support the wider Harewood Estate.
• The proposals would continue supporting the local, regional and national economy through the continued support of ITV productions.

Environmental

• The nearby extension of the filming set at Burden Head Farm would utilise the pre-existing access road and create a suitable use for recently altered buildings, reducing the need to travel to alternative locations, reducing carbon footprint and minimising disruption to nearby communities. Additionally it would provide a long-term use for the buildings.
• The proposed developments would constitute an efficient and suitable re-use of previously developed land, on an established production set.
• The proposed developments would allow ITV Studios Ltd Green Team to continue to grow. The Green Team have attended to 17,000 seedlings, ensuring roots remain covered and pruning carefully at Gair Wood, and worked with the Woodland Trust to successfully plant 750 trees.

ITV Studios Ltd aims to improve the sustainability of the set through efficient production methods such as sustainable transport options, upgrades to filming equipment and the location of filming.

ITV have shaped their production methods to encourage and improve sustainability, such as through limiting off site location filming to a 30-minute radius of the Emmerdale Village, vehicle sharing and increasing local storage to limit movement of costume, hair and makeup.

Both planning applications will be accompanied by a Travel Plan implementing the following sustainable travel methods, amongst others:

Village Production Set

• A staff bus share to connect the Kirkstall Road Studio in Leeds to the Emmerdale Village Production Set at Harewood Estate, which will enable connection to the set via Leeds City Centre which has an array of public transport methods including bus services and local and national rail services.
• Staff car sharing to be promoted and encouraged.
• 100% EV fleet for staff and on-site vehicles.
• Commitment by ITV to exclusively use electrical vehicles at the Emmerdale Village Production Set by 2030.

Visitor Tours

• EV car parking on-site for visitors.
• Collection service from local bus stop at Harewood (regular services directly to and from Leeds City Centre).

Both planning applications will be submitted in full seeking permanent consent for continued operations at the Emmerdale Village Production Set to enable Emmerdale to continue production and facilitate the highly popular visitor tour. 

The applications are anticipated to be submitted to Leeds City Council in Summer 2026.

A questionnaire is available for completion, which includes a comments below, available here:

Complete the questionnaire here

Alternatively, you can provide comments to the LSH team leading on the project via the project-specific email address:

emmerdale@lsh.co.uk

Once the consultation period closes all comments will be reviewed and considered as part of the preparation of both planning applications.

A response will be provided to all who have engaged in the consultation once the event closes.