Record breaking year for filming brings £11.5m to city

Larry Neild 28 July 2016

MOVIE directors wanting to film in Liverpool’s picturesque Georgian Quarter will be asked to love thy neighbour after fed up residents have been left less than starry eyed.

And a London-style permit scheme for film makers is to be introduced in Liverpool after a record-breaking year for location shoots in the city which brought £11.5 million into the economy.

City officials say the measures won't lead to the end credits rolling on Liverpool’s reputation as one of Britain’s best locations for filming.

The area around Rodney, Catharine, Huskisson, Falkner and Canning Streets is one of the UK’s hottest locations for producers wanting to recreate parts of London and New York - at considerably less cost than that of either.

Nevertheless, the increasing parade of lights, cameras and action has led some locals to complain about lives being disrupted by film crews and their vehicles converging on the cobbled streets night and day.

To smooth things out, a set of guidelines is to be produced involving discussions with residents.

Only last month, some roads around Liverpool 8 were closed for up to 11 hours overnight for shooting of Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool, starring Annette Bening, Jamie Bell and Julie Walters.

Filming in Percy Street

One resident living in the Canning area told Liverpool Confidential: "We have always done our best to welcome film makers into the area, even though it can be disruptive. But as the area has become more popular it drawbacks. It would be awful if we were experiencing increasing inconvenience because it was harder to film in London.

"Most crew members are quite friendly but there are some who seem to think they own the streets and control what comes and goes. Parking space around these streets is also a problem and we have had times when parking bays have been blocked off for film vehicles and not used. There has to be give and take, but if it gets out of hand the complaints will rise."

Meanwhile, out of town film crews will have to pay a small fee for as part of a new permit scheme, but local film makers won’t have to pay anything.

A city council spokeswoman said the permit idea has been welcomed by film makers.

“It won’t be like the London permits, but be our own version which will make life easier for film makers coming here. They tell us it will mean far less paperwork for them.”

The changes come as a report has been completed or next Tuesday’s meeting of the council’s Culture and Tourism Select Committee. The report reveals that during 2015, 257 film and TV projects came to the city, resulting in 1,067 filming days and bringing in £11.5million to the local economy.

This is a 50 percent increase on the previous year, with the main rise being the number of days of filming per project.

Liverpool’s Film Office team predict that 16/17 will be another bumper year , with 147 productions already filmed in the city resulting in 312 film days. More money is now being generated by the Film Office thanks to the introduction of the ‘Income and Commercialisation Strategy’.

For the first time, the collection of fees was centralised which made using council services much easier and more efficient for production companies when booking road closures, parking in the city, street cleansing and filming in council owned properties such as the Cunard Building, St George’s Hall and the Town Hall. This resulted in a direct income for the council of £468,619, meaning for the first time the city council received an economic impact directly from filming activity.

Film Office manager, Lynn Saunders, said: “A huge amount of work goes in to attracting production companies to the city, and then working with them in the run up to, during and post filming to make sure all aspects run as smoothly as possible and they have a positive experience of the city."