It really is THE END of the road for Liverpool’s Futurist Cinema as the demolition squad bring down the historic building.
And what started off as a swift execution order on Tuesday is starting to become a look-away public spectacle, as these pictures from the weekend show.
Frankly, we don't have much of an appetite to publish many more.
Lime Street was suddenly closed off on Tuesday night to await its appointment with the axemen - only hours after the Court of Appeal rejected calls to quash a planning application which will see the picture house and 10 buildings surrounding it reduced to rubble.
This series of legal challenges have cost more than £2 million and have been a monumental waste of money and time for all those involved
With a surgical-like precision the operation swiftly swung into action as SAVE Britain’s Heritage, the London-based charity that brought the case, was still considering whether to go to the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, to win a stay of execution.
It was too late. SAVE described the speed of the bulldozing exercise as a pre-emptive strike to prevent any further challenge.
“In the annals of architectural history, this demolition is an arch piece of civic vandalism,” said SAVE.
SAVE’s campaign was supported by Merseyside Civic Society, the Cinema Theatres Association and the Victorian Society, as well as over 4,000 people who signed a petition calling for the buildings to remain.
It was also supported by Professor John Belchem, the Pro Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool University, Paula Ridley CBE, former chairman of Civic Voice and former chair of the V&A Museum, screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, writer of the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, and Liverpool born former Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall.
In the golden era
Still standing: Tuesday when the order to demolish was given 
Wednesday teatime: Still getting to grips with how to take apart the intricat estructure of Liverpool's first picture house
Friday: Going downThe city council and developers Neptune issued statements welcoming the decision that will see some of the city centre’s oldest buildings bulldozed to make way for a new £39m development of student flats, hotel and commercial.
Liverpool Deputy Mayor and regeneration supremo Malcolm Kennedy tweeted: “Months of wasted time, thousands of wasted pounds on legal fees. It's time to get on with the job."
But SAVE said it made no apology for its involvement. In a statement it blasted the hurried destruction of “a fine piece of early cinema architecture, one of the grandest frontages of its kind to survive in England”.
The historic terrace, it said, had a varied character typical of many English towns and cities, with lively commercial frontages and Georgian buildings dating back to 1780 which almost anywhere else in England would be retained.
“A slice of history is being completely truncated leaving two bookends with a wholly unsympathetic replacement,” said SAVE’s Henrietta Billings.
“These buildings on Lime Street in the buffer zone of the World Heritage Site are seen by everybody on their way to and from the station. Liverpool continues to be at risk of losing its World Heritage status – and UNESCO has flagged concern about other large scale, high rise development in the buffer zone. That makes major demolition and development on the street a subject of national and international concern, and SAVE makes no apology for our involvement,” she added.
SAVE produced its own vision for Lime Street, below, which would have spared the frontages of the Futurist and other buildings.
SAVEs alternative vision for Lime Street would have retained the Futurist facade and the surrounding buildings 
The new development of student flats and shops will be beneficial to the World Heritage Site, claims Neptune It added: “As a small organisation with very limited funds we do not take decisions to go to court lightly. This case has national and international significance, given Liverpool’s World Heritage status, and in a city with such a rich architectural heritage we were determined to make sure that the decision making process about such an important gateway site was robustly scrutinised. We pressed ahead with the Court of Appeal on the strength our own legal advice, and the indication from the Court that our case ‘had a very real chance of success’.”
SAVE said in its view Neptune proposals on offer at Lime Street are “monolithic, repetitive, and oversized”.
SAVE had appealed for a Judicial Review on the grounds that the city council had breached planning guidance by failing to notify the Department for Culture Media and Sport and UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee.
But the Court of Appea ruled that the city council had acted "entirely appropriately”.
Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “It is now almost a year since we granted this scheme planning permission, and due to the legal action this scheme has been in limbo, meaning Lime Street, one of the city’s key gateway routes, has not had the investment that it so desperately needed.
“We must now crack on as soon as possible with enabling the developers to deliver on their vision for the area, bringing it up to a much higher standard than it has been for decades, and one that is fitting for a major entry point into the city centre.”
Steve Parry, Managing Director of Neptune Developments added: “This series of legal challenges have cost more than £2 million and have been a monumental waste of money and time for all those involved.
“More importantly it has been a wasted opportunity to get on with a much needed piece of regeneration creating jobs and opportunities for the people of Liverpool and removing the dereliction that blights this gateway to Liverpool.
“In essence SAVE have been campaigning to retain buildings that are beyond economic repair without ever seriously considering whether this could be achieved and have tried to link Lime Street to the concerns about our World Heritage status even though this scheme actually has a beneficial impact on the World Heritage Site.”
Powered by Wakelet
