Filming for the new Harry Potter TV series has effectively shut down a Buckinghamshire village, with locals saying they have been left “cut off” from the outside world.
Plum Jam Productions, a Warner Bros Discovery subsidiary, closed all main routes through Latimer for three days this week.
The shoot is for the second series of HBO’s adaptation of JK Rowling’s fantasy books.
Locals were told access would be limited to emergency vehicles only between 7am and 7pm on Tuesday, with permit-holder access at restricted times on Monday and Wednesday.
The production firm wrote to locals earlier this month, acknowledging the filming “may bring some additional traffic and congestion” while promising to make the period “as manageable as possible”.
With the main roads closed, drivers were diverted onto Blackwell Hall Lane, a narrow, unlit single-track country road with no room for vehicles to pass one another.
The only alternative was an 11-mile detour which added at least 20 minutes to journeys out of the village.
Traffic marshals wearing hi-vis uniforms manned roadblocks at both ends of Latimer, only letting pass-holding residents travel through – and even then, only with an escort.
Filming for the new Harry Potter TV series has effectively shut down Latimer
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GETTY
On Tuesday, those living on the nearby private Parkfield Latimer estate said their passes were restricted to urgent trips, such as expectant mothers needing hospital care.
Some residents were asked to park in a nearby field, while others were offered payment to let the crew use their driveways.
Candice Adams, a Latimer resident, told the BBC: “They had no concern for how we were going to get in and out. They were only worried about their production over those three days.”
“We are taxpaying residents and our access has been cut off… I do feel like we’ve all been left in the lurch.”
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Locals were left furious while their village was shut down for the second series of HBO’s adaptation of JK Rowling’s fantasy books
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WARNER BROS
John Smit, who lives nearby, told The Telegraph that a school run which normally takes seven minutes stretched to 45 minutes on Tuesday morning.
Keith Morgan, visiting a pub north of Latimer from Rickmansworth, said: “It’s like going round the South East of England. And the roads are not the easiest anyway.”
Julia Jenkin, who has lived at the Parkfield Latimer estate since the 1980s, said she planned to stay at home for the entire three-day shoot.
“I’m not saying I can’t go out, but I don’t think anyone who wants to go out will go down that lane. I’ve done it once in my life and I will never do it again,” she said.
Julia Jenkin, a resident of the Parkfield Latimer estate since the 1980s, said she planned to stay at home for the entire three-day shoot
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DE VERE
Thomas Broom, Buckinghamshire Council’s deputy member and cabinet member for transport, said: “Buckinghamshire has a strong track record of attracting film and TV productions, which bring economic benefits to local communities.
“Buckinghamshire council approved a temporary road closure for filming activity in Latimer following its usual notification, consultation and assessment processes.
“The production company engaged with residents and local stakeholders throughout the planning process, and feedback helped shape measures to minimise disruption where reasonably practicable.”