Media professionals have welcomed a £8m lifeline which has been provided to a major film studio development at Edge Lane.
The £17m development will go ahead on the site of the former Littlewoods building, transforming it into one of the largest tv and film studios in the UK.
Funding will initially be draw from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, with them approving £8m of the total £17m project.
The studios will also be used by young filmmakers and university students across the city.
Dr Keith Marley, Programme Leader MA Film at Liverpool John Moores University, said: “The opening of the studios will provide exciting work-related opportunities for our film and media students at Liverpool John Moores University.
“Part of the problem with not having a major production facility based in this city was that crew often had to be brought in from outside of Liverpool.
“However, moving forward, the studios will help develop skilled technical and creative crew from within the Liverpool City Region, proving that Liverpool really is a cinematic city, not just as a film location, but also as a hub for state of the art production facilities.”
However, the rest of the funding will come from Developer Capital and Centric who have just signed a partnership with the Combined Authority and Liverpool City Council to build this development.
The £17 million plan will have a value of around £70 million when finished.
Earlier in the year, Liverpool John Moores University, a key tenant in the project, dropped out. The university wanted to focus on its own existing facilities rather than becoming a key tenant in the Littlewoods studio development.
After this, the city council and Capital and Centric looked for another educational establishment to become part of the development.
With Liverpool being one of the country’s most filmed-in locations, the studios would be expected to create a much bigger reputation for film and tv works created in the city.
It’s believed the studios will also help to create up to 3,650 jobs once they are up and running. The Littlewoods film studio project is set to be complete by the end of next year.
Feature image: Liverpool John Moores
