Plans to convert the former ABC cinema on Lime Street into a new live music venue have been given the go-ahead.
Ion Developments – formally Neptune Developments – is set to bring the vacant Art Deco landmark back into use creating a venue capable of holding crowds of up to 1,500 with a TV studio, bar and a restaurant.
The proposals, which have been approved by Liverpool City Council’s planning department, tie in with the developer’s wider scheme to regenerate Lime Street with the creation of new retail space and leisure provision, student accommodation and a new Premier Inn hotel.
The former cinema, which is Grade II-listed, first opened its doors to the public in 1931 – the last film shown there was the Michael Curtiz classic ‘Casablanca’ in 1998.
Last December, a report to Liverpool City Council’s cabinet confirmed that two unnamed companies are in the running to operate the new venue.
