Liverpool can play many roles. Its streets have doubled for London, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Berlin, Moscow and Madrid. Behind those transformations is the Liverpool Film Office, a department of Liverpool City Council and, since its founding in 1989, Europe’s first film office.
What the Office does best is make filming easy, and its core service is free. Its team handles location finding, permissions, liaison, traffic control and parking, and helps productions source local crew and suppliers. In addition, it manages a free locations database, a crew database and a directory of film-friendly local businesses, from extras agencies to post-production studios. It even runs an introductory service for hotels and serviced apartments. Its reach covers the six boroughs of the Liverpool City Region: Liverpool, Wirral, Sefton, Knowsley, Halton and St Helens.
Permits follow the same one-stop approach. Filming on council land, buildings or public highways requires permission, with at least five working days’ notice. Production companies registered in the city region pay no permit fee.
Beyond locations, the Office also manages The Depot, with two purpose-built stages of 20,000 sq ft each.
Liverpool also offers something different: investment. The Liverpool City Region Production Fund, supported by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, invests £100,000 to £500,000 per project in features and scripted TV. Rather than a grant, the investment is typically equity, recouped from revenues with a share of profits. It usually covers no more than 20% of the budget. To qualify, at least half of the financing must already be in place, and productions must keep a staffed base in the region through prep and shooting. Relaunched in autumn 2025, the fund backed its first feature, A Town in Nova Scotia, starring Bill Nighy, joining earlier investments such as This City Is Ours, The Responder and Time.
The results are measurable. Between 2019 and 2025, 1,607 productions filmed in the region, adding £150 million to the local economy and creating 5,408 full-time equivalent jobs. Today, the Liverpool City Region is the UK’s most filmed area outside London, with credits including The Batman and Peaky Blinders.
Read more: Cinema & Video International Issue #209
