Redevelopment of landmark building still on track despite major fire

Work is set to start on transforming a landmark Liverpool building into a film and television studio.

The derelict Littlewoods Building on Edge Lane was gutted in a major fire last September.

But developers Capital and Centric are due to start work  on the £60m redevelopment scheme by the end of the year.

The multi-million pound scheme is due for completion by the end of 2021 despite the fire.

The nature of the design of the building means the scheme will only be delayed by around six months.

Capital and Centric director John Moffat spoke to the Leverpool Echo.

He said: “The fire had an impact in the short term, but we’ve been incredibly fortunate in that the way the building was designed minimised the impact of the fire. It didn’t pull in the facades, which was purely a fluke of the design of the building.

“The delay it has caused will only be somewhere in the region of three to six months. All the credit for that has to go to the fire service who worked incredibly hard through the night to keep the structure upright.

“It means we don’t need to do a complete overhaul of the design of the scheme, and it hasn’t changed the long term plans for the building at all.

The completed scheme will include two new two new 20,000 square foot sound stage.

The project is being carried out in partnership with the world-famous Twickenham Studios.

The plan is to produce high-end drama and big budget films at the studio.

The building was home to the Littlewoods Pools empire for 60 years employing 30,000 people in its heyday.