filmshoot
Local Authority wales

Filming in Cardiff: permits and fees

Cardiff Film Office provides single-point contact for productions filming in the Welsh capital, covering council streets, parks, and civic buildings.

Who issues permits

Cardiff Film Office issues permits for council-controlled streets, parks, and civic buildings. For wider Wales filming, Film Cymru Wales can connect productions to other local authorities. Productions working on Cardiff Castle should note the castle is managed by Museums Cardiff, not the Film Office.

Process

Contact Cardiff Film Office as the first step, regardless of the specific location. The team assesses which departments need involvement and whether permissions from other organisations (such as Museums Cardiff, Cardiff Harbour Authority, or Natural Resources Wales) are also needed. Allow at least two weeks for standard permits; four to six weeks for road closures or multi-site productions.

Fees

Cardiff Film Office’s advisory service is free. Council permits carry admin fees. Location hire for specific council assets is negotiated directly. Road closure costs are set by the highways team.

What’s covered

Council-controlled streets, Cardiff Bay waterfront public areas, Bute Park, Roath Park, council civic buildings including Cardiff City Hall and the National Museum Cardiff exterior (the museum manages its own grounds), public squares.

Typical restrictions

Cardiff City Hall and the Civic Centre have specific protocols. Cardiff Castle has entirely separate management through Museums Cardiff. Night shoots in residential areas of Pontcanna and Roath require community notification. Standard noise and insurance requirements apply.

Common reasons applications are refused or delayed

Cardiff Film Office coordinates across multiple organisations — the council, Cardiff Harbour Authority, Museums Cardiff, and Natural Resources Wales can all have a stake depending on the location. The two-week standard lead time assumes all relevant parties are in play from the start; late applications that discover they need an extra body at day twelve are the most common source of delay.

  • Insurance certificate missing a public liability endorsement, or the certificate not covering the specific public land or water-adjacent location
  • Risk assessment inadequate for night shoots in residential Pontcanna or Roath, where the council applies real scrutiny to noise and lighting plans
  • No evidence of community notification for shoots that overlook residential windows — particularly in the Canton and Roath areas where terraced streets are tightly packed
  • Date conflict with Cardiff Bay events calendar or summer waterfront programming, which runs heavily from May through September and competes directly for the same public spaces
  • Application under the two-week minimum with no prior pre-application call to the Film Office
  • Unresolved complaint from a previous production at the same location

Productions intending to film at Cardiff Castle or National Museum Cardiff must have separate permissions in place from those bodies — the Film Office cannot grant or fast-track those, and an incomplete permissions picture will stall the whole shoot.

Where a shoot affects shopfronts — on St Mary Street, Roath high street, or the arcades — Cardiff Film Office will typically expect evidence that affected traders have been informed and have not objected. In practice, signed consent is expected from any business whose frontage is blocked during trading hours. For residential streets in Pontcanna, Roath, or Canton, a door-drop letter to directly overlooked properties is standard; the film officer will confirm the required radius based on the setup.

Escalation route if a permit decision is contested: Cardiff Film Office coordinator → Cardiff Council head of events or highways → relevant cabinet member. For road closures, the highways function in Wales sits with Cardiff Council for classified roads within the city, but trunk roads (the A470, A48M approaches) are managed by Welsh Government’s roads directorate — those permissions run in parallel and are not covered by the council permit. Welsh Government’s Transport for Wales relationship is relevant for anything affecting key arterial routes or public transport corridors.

Contact

Apply on the Cardiff Film Office website → cardiff.gov.uk

FAQ

Who issues this filming permit?
Cardiff Council / Cardiff Film Office issues filming permits for its area. Applications go through the council's filming / events team — not the local parks department or police, although those may also be consulted.
How long is the lead time?
Allow at least 14 working days. Complex applications involving road closures, drone use, or multiple locations need more — plan 2–4 weeks ahead where possible.
What's the typical cost?
Cardiff Council / Cardiff Film Office quotes filming fees case-by-case based on scale, duration, and public-realm impact. Small documentary crews are often charged an admin fee only; feature-film shoots involving road closures cost meaningfully more.
What does this permit cover?
The permit typically covers streets, parks, civic buildings, commercial. Private property and other national-body land (e.g. Crown Estate, National Trust, Royal Parks) may need separate consent.
How do I apply?
Apply via Cardiff Council / Cardiff Film Office's filming page at https://www.cardiff.gov.uk/ENG/business/Business-promotion/Cardiff-film-office/Pages/default.aspx. Submit your dates, locations, crew numbers, and equipment list. Expect a risk-assessment request and, for larger shoots, a pre-filming meeting.