The removal of the famous Radio City sign from St Johns Beacon marks the latest chapter in the history of the near 60-year-old tower. The ECHO revealed that plans have been lodged to remove the lettering from the outside of the 450ft building, with a LED advertising board to be installed in its place.
A Turbulent Year and a New Direction
The remarkable building, sitting in the heart of the city centre, went through one of its most turbulent years in 2024 as the site which housed Radio City for a generation played out its final broadcast. Its owner, Bauer Media, renamed the station to Hits Radio Liverpool and announced in October of that year that it would move out of the tower, having made the decision not to renew the lease on the Liverpool landmark.
Landlords Rivington Hark have tasked agents to find a new tenant for the site, which has sat vacant ever since. Mark Williams, co-founder of the business, told the ECHO the firm would listen to “all ideas” for the beacon “however wacky” they may be.
Previous Plans and Controversies
Almost six years ago, Liverpool Council’s planning committee gave its approval for a £5m wire to extend from the tower across St Johns Gardens to touch down on the roof of Central Library. Proposed by ZipWorld, there were hopes the plans would bring dozens of jobs to the city. The idea was labelled “barmy” by some opponents, citing the numerous memorials, including those to Hillsborough victims and the war dead situated nearby, and St John’s Gardens hosting a number of memorial events throughout the year. It prompted then Mayor Joe Anderson to take the unprecedented move to step in and block the development.
Speaking in 2020, he said: “As Mayor I do not interfere in the planning process. However, I do have the final decision on whether a building owned by the council should be used in such a way. I have serious concerns about using this area, and having spoken to the company could not let them progress further, knowing I would not support it.”
However, a letter from Zip World boss Sean Taylor to Mr Anderson around the time of that decision suggested the former city leader was hugely supportive of the scheme and ‘asked for bullets to fire back’ at those opposing the plans just a few weeks earlier. The letter was one of a number of documents released following a Freedom of Information request by Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Makinson.
A New Vision for the Tower
Now one woman’s dream for the site appears to have turned into a premonition. Kayla Bibby, 41, from Bromborough, submitted a 30-page application to the owners of the tower as she hopes to turn the former chimney, revolving restaurant and radio station into a “sky bar” and advertising space she describes as “the beacon that never sleeps.” Kayla, who described having a 20-year career in civil engineering, has a long-held fascination with the tower, and in 2021 formed a company with the goal of turning the structure into a “digital lighthouse.”
Part of Kayla’s proposal for the tower would see the radio station studios stripped out and replaced with a sky bar in the site of the former revolving Tower Restaurant from the 1970s. St Johns, the management company for the tower, market and car park, said that the building was in need of remedial work after the last tenants, Bauer Media, moved out after almost 25 years. These works are now nearing completion, and multiple offers and “strong expressions of interest” have been made by companies hoping to occupy the tower.
