What has happened to a city's Wonka money?

Money a council earned from the filming of last year's Wonka movie will be used to surface "a well-used but muddy area" of a city park.

Verulamium Park in St Albans, which was once the site of the third-largest city in Roman Britain, was used for scenes in the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory prequel, starring Timothée Chalamet as Willy Wonka.

St Albans City & District Council was paid £41,000 for use of the park, with £25,000 ring-fenced specifically for park improvements.

The authority said the work was due to be completed by the spring.

Wonka, directed by Paddington film-maker Paul King, focuses on Willy Wonka's early life and stars Chalamet, Oscar winner Olivia Colman, Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins and Hugh Grant, who appears as an Oompa Loompa.

It was released in December 2023.

Crews working on the movie, which was primarily filmed at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, spent about a day filming in the park and nearby Abbey Mill Lane in 2022.

As well as a set near to the Ye Olde Fighting Cocks pub, a marquee and temporary pathways were set up on the flood plain next to the River Ver, near Westminster Lodge.

The park was covered in fake snow and had a circus stall, Victorian lamps and a vintage theme.

Revealing where the location fee was going, Chris Traill, the council's strategic director for community and place delivery, said: "After discussions with the park's consultative forum, it has been decided that it will finance the surfacing of a well-used but muddy area near the former golf course.

"The work has gone out to tender and the improvements, which will be enjoyed by the many thousands of people who use the park, should be completed in the spring."

Last year, the council said the money would not be used for "routine maintenance".

It has now confirmed the proposed work would be a "major enhancement", surfacing an area that has not been surfaced before.

Mr Traill added that filming revenue so far this financial year was £65,660, helped by two major productions recently being held in the city.

"Most of this money, around £55,000, has come from providing unit bases for filming companies' vehicles," he said.

"It will go towards general budgets and is not earmarked for any specific purpose."

He added that the authority appreciated that the "occasional suspension of on and off-street parking bays can be a temporary inconvenience".

"However, we are sure our residents will understand that the benefits of facilitating filming in the district are considerable," he said.

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