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County outlines film‑permitting process, fees and role in supporting local industry
Summary
Manager’s‑office liaison Tim Buckley briefed commissioners on how New Hanover County issues film permits for county property, noted a roughly 1,000‑job local film footprint and said 2025 saw lower activity tied to stronger incentive programs overseas.
Tim Buckley, who serves in the manager’s office as the county’s liaison to the film industry, described New Hanover County’s film‑permitting process and its economic benefit to the region. "We own a lot of picturesque property... we do not require productions to obtain a permit if they are looking to film on privately owned property or other public property," Buckley said, explaining the county issues permits only when county‑owned land is used.
Buckley said the county does not generally charge location fees except at Airlie Gardens (he cited fees of $1,750 per day for production use, $250 per day for pre/post production and $300 per day for commercial photography). He noted the county has an online permit application and that the fastest the office has processed an application and issued an approved permit was 16 minutes — a point he offered to illustrate staff responsiveness.
On industry trends, Buckley told commissioners that 2025 was relatively slow locally and attributed part of the downturn to stronger incentive packages offered in places such as Australia, Canada and parts of Europe. He said county management has asked him to engage more directly with the Wilmington Regional Film Commission to explore ways to attract more productions back to the region.
Commissioners thanked Buckley and asked whether staff are tracking prospects for 2026; Buckley said most recent requests have been for small independent projects and that the county will continue outreach with regional partners.
