Morgan Sindall to build Littlewoods pop-up studios 

Liverpool City Council has selected the contractor to build two 20,000 sq ft sound stages for film and television production on Edge Lane, next to Capital & Centric’s £54m Littlewoods Studios development. 

The £3.4m project to build the temporary, pop-up, studios is to start on site in November and the council wants to have the studios open by next April.  

The city council has been chosen to receive £2.7m from the Government to deliver the scheme. The remaining £700,000 needed for the project will be funded through unsupported borrowing, which will be repaid over three years, according to a council report. A planning application for the studios was lodged last month. 

The report to Liverpool City Council’s cabinet, said: “The pop-up studios will be a quick turnaround solution and provide the city with a ready-to-go facility that will attract productions and help support the visitor and hotel economy.  

“The project will provide a solid foundation for the long-term success of the Littlewoods Film and TV Studios proposed on the adjacent site.” 

The pop-up studios will provide a temporary solution to demand for production space

The studios will sit alongside, but separate from, Capital & Centric’s scheme to transform the former Littlewoods pools building into a centre for the film and TV industry.  

The structures are intended to provide a temporary facility to “capitalise on current demand for studio space at a relatively low capital cost until the permanent Littlewoods studios is complete”, the council report added. 

Capital & Centric says the Littlewoods Film and TV Studios is intended to become a “Hollywood of the North” of England.  

In July, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority approved £17m to support the developer’s scheme.  

Last month, Liverpool John Moores University agreed to lease 75,000 sq ft at the development.  Twickenham Studios had already signed to take 85,000 sq ft at the 750,000 sq ft scheme, and the letting to LJMU takes the project to around 60 to 70% pre-let, according to the developer. 

Morgan Sindall declined to comment.