Littlewoods film studio ‘will boost film and TV sector across the North’
The revived Littlewoods building in Liverpool could become a landmark for film and TV production across the North of England - that’s the upbeat message from Capital & Centric as work finally begins to clear out the fire-ravaged landmark.
The former Littlewoods Building is one of the city’s proudest landmarks but has been derelict for years, and was badly damaged in a fire in 2018.[1][2]
Capital & Centric has been pursuing plans to convert the grand white Art Deco block and the land around it into a “Hollywood of the North” film and TV studio complex. Local officials and the developer have remained committed to the plans, which were first revealed in 2015[3], but the Littlewoods building itself remained untouched following the fire.
But today, in a major landmark for the project, work officially began to clear the building ahead of its transformation into a hub for the studio campus complete with offices, prop storage and other services needed for crews working in the studios being built next door.
The project’s backers say it will boost Liverpool’s economy by hundreds of millions of pounds as producers will be able to make whole films and series in the city, rather than filming here and then moving post-production elsewhere. And they say businesses throughout the North could benefit from the improved facilities in Liverpool.
John Moffat, joint managing director of Capital & Centric, told BusinessLive: “At the moment, the city has a huge number of filming days every year, probably 1,500 days a year of filming goes on, but at the moment it’s predominantly external shooting and then they'll disappear off somewhere else.
“The real economic benefit comes when you have your interior shooting on a soundstage happening. That's when you get the real economic benefits.
“At the moment (filming) is adding a huge amount to the economy but once this development is finished, it will be adding over £200m a year to the economy. So it is an absolutely huge transformational scheme. And it's almost difficult to get across the scale of transformation that will bring.”
Capital & Centric is working with Liverpool council, as freeholder of the site, and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority as funders. Plans were submitted to the council last month[4].
Lynn Saunders, Liverpool Film Office manager, said the project would provide new opportunities for young people from diverse communities across the North.
She said: “ I grew up in Cantril Farm, Liverpool, in the 80s Brookside filmed on the edge of my estate. I didn't have the right accent. I didn't know the right people. I didn't have the right qualifications. And someone like me couldn't ever work in the film TV industry.
“Now you can in this city. We've just been working with cohorts from diverse communities across Liverpool City Region - one in particular was a cohort of 25 long-term unemployed. We gave them training, free training, and then my job and my team's job was to get them paid work.
“Their first job was a Taylor Swift pop promo. The second one was an Amazon Studios feature film, with Idris Elba and John Cena. They're working in their own right now because of the quality of the credits that they've got.
“We've partnered with Screen Manchester Screen Yorkshire and North East Screen. Together we put in a successful bid to the BFI for more funding for skills. Because my priority for the next three years, while this is coming online, is to build those talent pipelines, and encourage the development of those post production services and supply chain services.
“So there's an array of opportunities to work in the sector and support the sector. And we've created, I suppose, the first successful Northern Powerhouse offer.
“We have productions that straddle Liverpool and Manchester all the time. But now, working together, we can foster 1,000 diverse entrants from our local communities into the industry over the next three years. And that's really exciting.”
Mr Moffat hosted Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and business leaders today to celebrate the start of work on the site. The old Littlewoods building will be stripped out over the next six months before work can begin on the shell. Two new 20,000 sq ft studios for big budget productions will be constructed on the neighbouring land.
How the planned Littlewoods Project could look (Image: Capital&Centric)Mr Moffat said the Littlewoods building would ultimately host “wraparound services” needed to support filming and production at the studios between the building and Liverpool Innovation Park. That could include production offices, space for set building, and prop and costume storage, as well as Grade A office space for film and TV firms. There will also be a roof garden and a new working clock in the tower.
Mr Moffat said it would create a “proper hub” for film and television in the city region, adding: “This is really an opportunity to create an economic cluster for a sector which the city is really, really strong in, but which at the moment just doesn't have a natural home in the city.”
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram accepted the project had taken time to develop but said it would be well worth it.
He said: “I get people being sceptical and frustrated that it's taken as long as it has, but unless we get the economics right then there's no chance of us getting the funding. The funding is there, it's in place, it's been agreed, the work to refurbish this building starts now. But the end use is the important thing.
“We will ensure that great films and film studios come to use these brilliant buildings, but we also want the jobs, the skills and the economic benefits of that to stay in the Liverpool City Region.
“We've seen some of those great films, the blockbusters like The Batman, you start to look and see the Liver Building and other places you recognise in Liverpool. But we want more of the post-production facilities to happen here, that's where we will create really high-skilled and well-paid jobs.”
References
- ^ former Littlewoods Building (www.business-live.co.uk)
- ^ in a fire in 2018. (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ first revealed in 2015 (www.liverpoolecho.co.uk)
- ^ were submitted to the council last month (www.business-live.co.uk)