Inside the Littlewoods building as iconic clock tower is demolished

The Littlewoods building is a Liverpool icon.

Found off Edge Lane, it was constructed in 1938 as the headquarters for the football pools empire. However, it was vacated almost 30 years ago and has cut an increasingly dilapidated figure since.

The structure was devastated by a huge fire in 2018, while years of vandalism and urban decay have taken their toll. A new era is on the horizon, though, as work is underway to breathe new life into the building.

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Developers Capital&Centric acquired the site in 2018, with the intention of converting the iconic building into the centre point of a campus of TV and film studios. In December, work began to achieve that goal.

Remediation began on site on December 12, with £17m financial backing from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has often spoken about his ambition for the project to turn the city into the 'Hollywood of the North'.

The project took a major step last week, as work began to deconstruct the building's famous clock tower. Studies identified the next stage of the project requires the demolition of the tower, which sits between the two main buildings.

The process to bring down the structure has begun ahead of a proposed reconstruction. Digital analysis of laser monitoring - placed on the tower to track its movement and condition – has confirmed how in its current condition the tower is unsafe and could collapse if left.

It will be carefully taken down in the coming weeks. The team plans for detailed photographic and survey records to be kept.

The intention is to rebuild the tower in the same spot, reusing elements of the original from the overhaul of the site. A planning application is currently with Liverpool Council for consideration and will include the rebuilding of the tower.

Drone footage sent to the ECHO by Mister Drone UK last week shows the state of the building as the tower work began. At the moment, the building appears as a shell, empty inside. However, the debris left behind has been cleared by remediation work.

Pictures taken by the ECHO show the first stage of the deconstruction of the tower, which has been fenced off and is supported by scaffolding.

Before this stage of the project began, John Moffat, joint managing director at Capital&Centric, said: “We are entering a critical phase of the restoration, as we peel back the layers of the building following decades of it sitting empty. The building is revealing itself and showing us where it needs our input most.

“We’ve explored every option to secure the original tower structure in situ, but the conclusions of several teams of experts have confirmed we need to dismantle it, re-use as much of the material and recreate the tower structure. We want to do this soon.

“If the tower collapsed, it could not only cause severe damage to the rest of the building, but put lives at risk. Our priorities are keeping everyone safe and saving what we can of the buildings, working to minimise the amount of structure needing to be re-built.

“We’ve restored lots of listed buildings and our experience meant we always anticipated the ongoing remediation would uncover structural challenges. Dismantling the tower will cost more, but it’s a necessary last resort – one that can be covered under the existing project budget."

CGIs of the completed project show the studio campus with the restored Littlewoods building at its heart. Two new 20,000 square foot studios to be used for film and TV productions will be the first structures to be constructed on the neighbouring land, subject to approval from Liverpool City Council.

As well as the studios, the campus would also be home to studio support, education facilities, a roof garden and a multi-purpose screening and performance zone, featuring five small format cinema screens, an outdoor performance space and permanent foodhall.

Liverpool is now the most filmed city in the UK outside London, with productions such as 'The Batman' and 'Peaky Blinders' using the region for filming in recent years, but Steve Rotheram hopes the studios will allow for the creation of jobs in the film industry on Merseyside.

Asked about the reality of Liverpool as a 'Hollywood of the North', the Metro Mayor told the ECHO in December: "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."

The ECHO took a look at the history and future of Littlewoods as part of our Behind the Doors series, which takes a closer look inside some of the region's most interesting buildings.

If you have a story you'd like to tell about a quirky or historic building or perhaps one you walk past on your daily commute, we'd love to hear from you. Please email: dan.haygarth@reachplc.com.

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