Film studio plans for Liverpool set for approval
PROPOSALS to create a new £25m film and TV studio in and around the iconic Littlewoods Building in Liverpool are to be considered next Friday.
A report going to the city council’s cabinet will set out plans to build the Littlewoods Studios Liverpool – a 4.5 hectare hub consisting of film and television studios, and a new home for Liverpool Theatre School which is currently based in Aigburth.
It will also provide new space for the city’s booming creative community and opportunities for an on-site educational offer will also be explored.
If the report is approved, work on the project will start immediately, with major onsite works starting as soon as January 2016.
Located at both the Littlewoods Building and on the neighbouring site of Liverpool Innovation Park on Edge Lane, the new campus will create up to an estimated 900 full time jobs when at capacity.
The Littlewoods Building and adjacent land is owned by the Homes and Communities Agency, which will be disposing of its interest to the city council. An agreement is in place to transfer the land and property interests to the preferred scheme developer Capital and Centric Ltd at no cost to the city council.
Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, said: “This project has been a long time in the planning. Various sites were reviewed, but the recognisable Littlewoods building offers the scale required and is in a great location to attract productions to the city.
“Capital and Centric are a perfect choice as developer and their experience shows they understand and work well with the creative sector.
“With this development we can support the film sector, attract inward investment, give a boost to the local economy, create jobs, improve skills and generally enhance the image of the city.”
The studios will mean that Liverpool can meet the demand for film and production facilities, after a report by the Film Office revealed that in 2014-2015, the city missed out on a potential £20m filming revenue due to capacity issues in the city. Following the recent announcement about tax breaks for the British film industry, it is predicted that more blockbuster productions will be looking to film in the UK.
So far, more than 130 productions have been filmed in Liverpool in 2015, including Florence Foster Jenkins, starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.
The former Littlewoods Pools Building has been vacant since 2003. Recently on the site, Capital and Centric completed a £4m conversion of the Bunker Building, creating 20,000 sq ft of speculative office space, attracting digital and creative companies.
It will continue to work onsite and take direct ownership of the site with a 250 year lease, delivering the first two, of three, phases of the project.
Capital and Centric said it will look to create around 1,500 jobs throughout the development phases, through the conversion of the existing buildings plus further bespoke buildings for the film and TV sector.
Michelle Rothwell from Capital & Centric said: “The Littlewoods Buildings is part of the history of Liverpool, with more than 2,000 people working there at one time. We’re really looking forward to bringing back to life what is an incredible and fascinating part of Liverpool’s heritage.”
