Metro Mayor determined to make Hollywood of the North a reality

Politicians and developers have said they are certain the funding will be found to turn Liverpool’s iconic Littlewoods building into a film studio complex subbed “the Hollywood of the North”.

Developer Capital and Centric’s joint managing director John Moffatt confirmed there had been interest from a financial backer to complete the project, but would not give more details.

The art deco-style building was the headquarters of the Littlewoods Football Pools in the 1930s, and 3,000 employees worked there. It closed in 1994 when the popularity of the pools dwindled.

On a visit to the site on Edge Lane, just outside the city centre, Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said he would be asking the new chancellor, Rachel Reeves, to back the project, which he said would create 3,000 jobs and bring millions of pounds to the Merseyside economy.

In 2017, Capital and Centric took on the lease for the building from Liverpool City Council, and in 2018 it was ravaged by fire.

Mr Rotheram said the plot was huge, matching the ambition of the scheme. “You can see the scale of the whole thing and what we are waiting for is these dreams to become reality,” he said.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority has invested £8m into the first phase of the project, which involves remediation and clearing the site to make the building safe.

The development will be delivered in phases and a total of £17m has been committed by the combined authority so far.

Mr Rotheram said he would be seeking additional funding from the government, adding: “This is an investment that would give UK Plc a quick return”.

He said: “We need a cast-iron business case to put to central government. I want to persuade her [the chancellor] that this is something of national importance that just so happens to be in Liverpool.”

The building’s distinctive clock tower was removed earlier this year, when engineers found that it was unstable.

Mr Moffat said it was sad that it could not be saved but said that a replica would be part of the finished project: “The tower was at risk of collapse so that had to be carefully dismantled.

“It’s a really iconic part of the site and it has to go back up,” he said.

The building’s façade is heavily scaffolded and there is no roof on either of its two “wings”.

A “hangar”, which was initially the staff canteen and was used at one point during the war to manufacture parachutes, does have a ceiling and will be partially opened to the public for events when the project is complete.

Mr Moffat said it was “so exciting” to be on site and see the scale of the building: “We are on the cusp of something truly transformational for the city.”

A planning application for the scheme will be considered by Liverpool council’s planning committee later this year. If the funding is agreed, the studios will be completed in 2027.