Littlewoods Pools building

Littlewoods was a football pools company founded by John Moores in 1923. The company rapidly expanded throughout the 1930s, and the Littlewoods Pools building, opened in 1938, was purpose-built to provide more space for its operations. Designed in the Art Deco style, probably by Scottish architect Gerald de Courcy Fraser, the building is an imposing white-rendered structure consisting of a central clock tower and two long wings terminated by pavilions. In November 1945, the building was handed over to the war casualties department, and was finally released to Littlewoods the following year. Littlewoods Pools continued to operate out of the building until November 1994, at which time the site was closed and its staff redeployed or made redundant. This was concurrent with the launch of the National Lottery, which immediately became a major rival to the pools industry; the closure of the Edge Lane site was carried out in anticipation of reduced profits as a result of this new competition. ==Regeneration project==

In May 2016, the two pavilions facing Edge Lane were decorated with large art murals in celebration of Liverpool's creative industry. In June 2018, developers Capital & Centric announced plans to convert the abandoned Littlewoods building into a studio complex for film and television, with Twickenham Studios expected to take over part of the space. On 2 September, a fire broke out inside the building, causing damage to the roof and upper floor of the west wing. The structure of the building remained sound, however, and Capital & Centric said that the regeneration project would go ahead. Further delay was caused by the need to establish training systems for potential employees. In 2020, Liverpool John Moores University was signed up as the education partner for the new studio, and its second permanent tenant. In July 2020, the developers secured an £11 million grant from the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority for the creation of two temporary studios on the land adjoining the Littlewoods building. Known as "The Depot", these studios were opened in October 2021. Remediation work on the main buildings commenced in December 2023, in lieu of work in summer 2024 which will see the creation of two new 20,000 square foot studios on site. In June 2024, the landmark clocktower was demolished for safety reasons, with plans to rebuild. ==References==