A Three Rivers District Councillor has rubbished claims that Leavesden Studios will be turned into a Harry Potter theme park.

On Monday actor Rupert Grint, who has played Ron Weasley in the Harry Potter franchise, was quoted saying that the studios would be converted into a theme park, with visitors able to tour the sets.

But councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst, who has represented residents’ concerns throughout the planning process, has denied this is the case.

The Liberal Democrat representative said: “I believe in this instance it could be a case that the wrong wording has been used, or something has been said out of turn.

“Unfortunately this is not the first time this has happened, with even the deputy county councillor referring to the attraction as a theme park in the past – which it is not, it will be nothing more than an attraction with visitors able to tour the sets.

“A theme park, which in terms of size is more suited to Paris and America, will not be at Leavesden Studios, the plans submitted by Warner Bros. and approved by the council simply would not allow for it.

“Housing has been agreed on the site, so there is simply no room, and if was going to transformed into a theme park, it would need to incorporate and take into consideration the surrounding area a lot more.

“Even if Warner Bros. did try to do this, if they had further plans to extend the usage, it is extremely unlikely it would be approved.

“A theme park and a visitor attraction are completely different, and there are strict controls in place for what has been approved.

“Visitors will not be able to just ‘turn up on the day’, they will need to pre-purchase tickets.

“Studios will be catering for up to 5,000 visitors a day, but the studios will be required to close promptly at 6.45pm.

“A Harry Potter visitors' attraction at Leavesden Studios is a welcome addition to the area.”

Warner Bros. declined to comment.