A Liverpool university has been named education partner at the £54m Littlewoods Film Studios project providing a direct link between academia and industry at what will be the largest facility of its type in the 海角视频.
Liverpool John Moores University will take 75,000sq ft for an Entertainment Technology Centre in conjuction with Hugh Baird College - focused on professional training for film and TV.
The university will be co-located alongside Twickenham Studios' "Hollywood-standard" filming complex at the redevelopment of the former pools building.
The entire project is intended to boost the city's film and digital entertainment industry, and make it the 海角视频's "digital entertainment capital".
According to CBRE, Monday's announcement is the largest commercial letting in the North West this year.
Vice Chancellor Prof Ian Campbell said the university was proud to partner with developer CAPITAL&CENTRIC and others on the scheme.
He said: “Our intention is to keep Liverpool ahead of the game, so the combination of training and talent pool are a key part of the recipe.
“Our renowned Screen School prepares professional film-makers, producers, digital artists,journalists and scriptwriters, and we will be working closely with our industry partners to ensure the talent pipeline supports this key sector in Liverpool’s economic future.
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“The Screen School will have a new additional base at the complex and we shall shortly be announcing a new suite of undergraduate, postgraduate, post professional and short courses to open up new vistas in research and high-end skills for young people and help cater for the needs of these growing industries.”
LJMU will offer a full range of further and higher education courses at the site, all designed to equip local youngsters for a job in the region’s rapidly growing film and TV sector.
The remaining 100,000sq ft will include office accommodation for companies in film, TV and digital sectors, and event space open to the public in the evenings, with a café-bar and 150 seat screening room.
Liverpool Council and the city region combined authority are also partners on the scheme. Last month, the project received a £17m funding commitment from the latter's strategic investment fund.
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Adam Higgins, co-founder of CAPITAL&CENTRIC said: “Getting an education partner on board has been what we’ve been waiting for and it willensure that local people have the right skills to take advantage of the huge opportunities on offer.
"Clustering film and TV with education is something pretty unique and Littlewoods Studios will be the biggest facility of its kind in the 海角视频.
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“In its heyday Littlewoods was the biggest employer in the area and where many people aspired to work. We want to bring that feeling back and getlocal kids excited about a career in film and TV and see that there are real jobs at the end of their studies.
“With our second anchor tenant now on board the rest of the space will be for companies involved in film, TV and digital, so if you’re interested in making Littlewoods your home, get in touch.”
The 10-acre Littlewoods Studios will be up and running by 2023, with temporary ‘pop up’ studios to be built by Liverpool City Council on neighbouring land by the end of the year.