Liverpool film studios: 'First steps' towards creating complex laid out

The "first steps" of a £70m scheme to bring a "sleeping giant of a building back to life" as one of the UK's biggest film and TV complexes have been laid out by Liverpool City Council.

A report, stating what was initially needed to start the revamp of retailer Littlewoods's former headquarters, is expected to be approved on 3 December.

A council spokesman said the scheme could create almost 4,000 jobs.

Councillor Sarah Doyle said it could be a "real game-changer" for Liverpool.

The city has become a popular location for filming in recent years and it has welcomed a host of productions, including the BBC's Peaky Blinders, Doctor Who and Ridley Road, Netflix's Stay Close and Munich: The Edge of War, Sky's COBRA: Cyberwar, and Warner Bros' blockbuster The Batman.

The announcement follows the opening of The Depot, two large sound stages situated opposite the building, in October.

The five-storey art deco building on Edge Lane has been vacant for several decades and was damaged by fire in 2018.

The scheme will see Twickenham Film Studios create a northern base on site and also house education space for Liverpool John Moores University.

The spokesman said the report was "requesting permission to unlock a potential £70m redevelopment... which would include major studios, creative office space and new media facilities".

He added that the report would be seeking approval to "begin an £8m remediation first phase in early 2022", which would be funded by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

Ms Doyle, who is Liverpool City Council's cabinet member for economic development, said the report set out "the first steps to bringing this sleeping giant of a building back to life".

She said the scheme "has the potential to be a real game-changer".

"If approved, we can deliver the remediation and set the stage for phase two and making this dream a reality, creating thousands of skilled jobs the impact of which will be felt way beyond these studios," she added.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said the area was "a vibrant, innovative hub of creativity and talent" and would "always be able to attract film and TV productions from across the globe, but why can't the actors come from Kirkby, the camera operators from Runcorn or the editors from Bootle?"

"I'd love to see a production written, filmed, acted and produced in the Liverpool City Region clearing up during awards season," he said.

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