Mayor Steve Rotheram leads first look inside Liverpool’s former Littlewoods building
Mayor of Liverpool City Region Steve Rotheram led a first look inside the former Littlewoods building today to see first-hand Capital&Centric’s progress to transform the site.
The social impact developers were able to open the doors for the first time since starting remediation last December.
Good progress has already been made on the site’s next chapter, with the clocktower having been temporarily dismantled after being assessed as unsafe and at risk of collapse. Elsewhere, the building’s walls have been stabilised and the two wings sensitively cleared ready to be restored and repurposed.
A central hangar – which will become a buzzing foodhall, screening and performance zone alongside a lush green courtyard – has also been fully cleared ready for construction to get going. A new artist impression of what the space will look like has also been released today.
It comes as Capital&Centric launch a call for would-be main contractors to express an interest in transforming the site into a world-class film and TV campus. The appointed team will be responsible for the re-working of the existing wings, replacing the clock tower and building two 20,000 sq.ft sound stages on neighbouring land.
The efforts to bring the site to completion have involved Liverpool City Council, as freeholders, and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, led by Steve Rotheram, which has pledged up to £17m to see the vision become a reality.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of Liverpool City Region, said:
“Since visiting last December, it’s really encouraging to see how much care and hard work has gone into the remediation of this iconic site. For years now, our area has been a prominent backdrop for some of the biggest film and TV productions on screen, earning our place as the most filmed location outside of London. But I don’t want to stop there.
“That’s why we have invested £17m in Littlewoods and The Depot, equipping our area now and in the future to facilitate every step of the production process, attracting thousands of jobs and training opportunities.
“Today marks a significant milestone in bringing this vision to life and establishing ourselves as the Hollywood of the North.”
John Moffat, joint managing director at Capital&Centric said:
“A lot care and attention has led to this moment and we’re proud to give a first look inside the building now it’s safe to do so. Our team has worked carefully to make sure we retained as much of the original structure as we could, given we found sections were at real risk of collapse.
“The support from the Mayor, Combined Authority and City Council in getting to this point has been absolutely critical. Given the importance of the film industry to the city region – with productions taking place on the city’s streets on a daily basis – The Littlewoods Project will further cement the city as the North’s natural creative home for the industry.
“We’re nearing the end of this first stage and are itching to get going on the next phase, which will see the iconic building restored and repurposed, to be enjoyed for decades to come.”
Plans submitted to the City Council detail how the Littlewoods Project will open up the site to the public for the first time, with landscaped courtyard gardens and a roof terrace, screening and performance zone, and food hall.
Capital&Centric is currently in talks with a variety of operators interested in taking space at the site, with the vision to transform the 1930s buildings into an internationally-recognised destination for the creative industries. Doing so would unlock a wealth of opportunities for locals in the creative sector for generations to come.
Work started on site in December last year to remove unsafe parts of the building with no architectural merit and retain as much of the existing structure as possible. Now the site is nearly ready for main contractors to move in, with two new 20,000 sq.ft studios for big budget productions the first to be constructed on the neighbouring land.