£70m Project To Make Liverpool ‘Hollywood Of The North’
The Littlewoods in Liverpool has been a familiar landmark of the city since it was built in 1938. The eye-catching Art Deco structure once housed the UK’s largest football pools empire and was seen as the jewel in its crown. However, its fortunes changed over the years, and for the last two decades the building has become derelict.
The final nail in the coffin seemed to be fire in 2018, which left it badly damaged. Yet now there are once again ambitious plans for the iconic building after it was acquired by the Manchester-based developers Capital & Centric (C&C). Their vision for the site is no less ambitious than to turn it into ‘the Hollywood of the North.’
The Business Desk reports that C&C have revealed plans to transform the site into two world-class film production studios. There will also be space for support facilities and educational facilities, as well as offices and workshops. The site will be landscaped and planted with an extensive range of greenery.
A full planning application has now been made to the council. John Moffat, C&C joint managing director, said: “From the Batman to Taylor Swift, Liverpool’s stellar reputation as having every ingredient to make shoots a possibility has drawn big stars and production companies here.”
He added: “The Littlewoods Project is all about doubling down on the city being a compelling home for the sector, providing a missing piece of the jigsaw with more indoor studio space and vital support facilities.”
“People have known for some time that the site is down to become a TV and film destination, but it’s a massive step forward to work up the detailed plans and show people what we’ve got in store for this iconic site.”
C&C have promised that the site will be made accessible to the local community, emphasising that they have taken into account the feedback received during the consultation process. The building will be a cultural hub, and there will be a multi-purpose screening zone that will be open to the public out of hours.
A new public access link will be created between the site and nearby Wavertree Park, in agreement with the council. The Liverpool Combined Authority will provide £17m of funding to develop an adjacent area known as The Depot, which will also contain film and TV studios.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “The Liverpool City Region has a long standing role as the country’s cultural capital and the development of the Littlewoods building is central to ensuring that we remain there. Establishing ourselves as an international hub for film and TV with world class facilities will be a really important string to our bow.
He added: “We have become a magnet for film and TV productions from around the world in recent years – making us the UK’s most filmed location outside of London. But I want to take our region to the next level, to stake our claim as the ‘Hollywood of the North’.”
It is expected that the scheme will eventually generate about 4,000 full time jobs in the area.
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