Liverpool City Region’s booming film and TV industry has enjoyed record growth since 2019 with more than 1,600 productions adding £150m to the local economy and creating more than 5,400 jobs.
The figures make the Liverpool City Region the UK’s most filmed area outside London, attracting high-profile productions such as The Batman (pictured), Clayface and House of Guinness, according to new report from the Liverpool Film Office.
Published today, Liverpool Film Office’s Impact Report 2019-2025 reveals the film and TV industry’s transformational impact on the city region, creating 5,408 full-time equivalent jobs and supporting local businesses, while nurturing the next generation of talent.
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Introduced in 2019, the Combined Authority’s £2.8m LCR Production Fund has played a pivotal role in driving growth – increasing the number, range and scale of feature films and scripted television made in the city region.
This City is Ours, The Responder and Time are among 10 supported productions which have received 19 industry awards including four BAFTAs and two International Emmys and added £24.5m to the city region economy, creating 861 indirect full time equivalent jobs and 56 trainee roles.
What began as a fund to attract productions, has developed to become an engine for screen sector development, stimulating the growth of production hubs in all six of the city region’s boroughs: Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.
Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region said: “The LCR Production Fund isn’t just bringing millions into our local economy – it’s opening doors for local people, giving them lifechanging opportunities and helping them get a foot in the door of industry. This is why we’ve backed projects like This City Is Ours – alongside the world class talent and infrastructure we’ve got here, we’re making sure our region is always in the conversation when it comes to making high-quality productions.”
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Managed by Liverpool Film Office, with funding from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, development of The Depot – two purpose-built 20,000 ft² sound stages off Liverpool’s Edge Lane – has also massively enhanced Liverpool’s production capacity.
Since its launch in 2021, The Depot has generated £29.1m in GVA for the city region economy, while also encouraging broader industry development. The report highlights 15 new businesses which have either started up or expanded into the city region as a direct result of The Depot.
The next chapter includes the creation of the huge, adjacent Littlewoods Studio Campus featuring six world-class sound stages, ScreenLab Liverpool and post-production facilities. The project is expected to create 3,200 new jobs and generate £170m GVA, while providing education and training for young people in one of the UK’s most deprived areas.
The scale of filming across the Liverpool City Region has also created a need for skills development and community engagement to support productions.
With National Lottery funding from the British Film Institute (BFI), LFO’s Action! skills programme offers free training and career development for people outside of further and higher education wanting to get into the screen industry. It has delivered 183 training opportunities and created 271 paid work opportunities, with three-quarters finding employment on completion in departments across the industry.
It joins Screen Alliance North, a British Film Institute skills cluster made up of Liverpool Film Office, North East Screen, Screen Manchester and Screen Yorkshire which is engaging with thousands of people to create a skilled production workforce across the North of England.
Lynn Saunders, head of the Liverpool Film Office said: “We have a commitment to economic regeneration, skills development, community engagement, and sustainable growth, with plans to further elevate Liverpool’s role in the UK’s screen industry.
“We have shown remarkable adaptability and growth, particularly given the unprecedented challenges posed by the pandemic. We rose to those challenges. The Batman was the first UK production to resume filming in a city setting during Covid and our work established comprehensive Covid safety protocols that became industry standard.”
