If you are waiting for St John's Beacon to reopen, there is still no date to put in your diary. Radio City has left, the public viewing gallery is closed and no new operator has been announced for the top of the tower.
Three Liverpool planning applications show some of the work being considered. Two propose replacing the yellow Radio City 96.7 lettering with a digital LED band. The third concerns the range of commercial uses that could operate inside. None identifies a new operator or gives a reopening date.
L1Local checked Liverpool City Council's planning system, the tower's official website and RivingtonHark's operator-search pages on 30 August 2026. Here is what is confirmed and what remains a proposal.
RivingtonHark's operator search first requested expressions of interest by 5 June 2026. The separate St John's Beacon opportunity website gave a final deadline of 12 June 2026.
The search invited attraction operators, restaurant businesses, hospitality companies and events and conference organisers to put forward ideas. The opportunity website illustrates possible uses including:
Those are examples for prospective operators, not confirmed plans. Neither the RivingtonHark announcement nor the opportunity website named a successful operator when L1Local checked them on 30 August.
The most visible proposed change is at the top of the tower, where the Radio City 96.7 lettering still wraps around the former studio floor.
Liverpool City Council's planning search lists two applications with the same proposal: replacing the existing lit sign with a digital LED signage band.
The decision field was blank for both when L1Local checked on 30 August. You can follow them through Liverpool City Council's planning application search by entering each reference number.
Historic England lists St John's Beacon at Grade II. Listed building consent is required for work that could affect the special architectural or historic character of a listed building, so it is separate from the advertisement application.
Both applications concern the sign. Approval would not confirm a new business, attraction or reopening date.
A separate application, 26LE/1716, asks the council for a certificate of existing lawful development. Its description says it seeks confirmation that floorspace can be used for any purpose within Use Class E.
Government guidance on lawful development certificates explains that a certificate gives formal confirmation that an existing or proposed use is lawful for planning purposes. It is not approval for one named restaurant, shop or attraction.
Government guidance on planning use classes says Class E covers shops, restaurants and cafés, offices, gyms, health services and some indoor recreation. A building can contain more than one Class E use or use space differently at different times of day.
Physical alterations, listed building consent, building regulations and licensing remain separate matters. The council search showed no decision for 26LE/1716 when L1Local checked on 30 August.
The official St John's Beacon homepage says the viewing gallery is temporarily closed to the public and asks people to check back for updates.
Older pages on the same website still show ticket and opening information, but the homepage carries the current closure notice. No reopening date has been announced.
The tower stands at 1 Houghton Street, attached to St Johns Shopping Centre and close to Liverpool Lime Street, Queen Square and the Royal Court Theatre. L1Local's Liverpool city centre guide covers the surrounding streets and transport points. Do not make a journey for the viewing gallery until the official closure notice changes.
Historic England records that the tower was constructed between 1965 and 1969 as part of the St John's shopping precinct. Architect James A Roberts designed the tower and shopping centre for Ravenseft Properties. Scott Wilson Kirkpatrick were the structural engineers and Trollope & Colls the main contractor.
The concrete shaft was designed to support an observation tower and serve as a ventilation flue for boilers beneath the shopping centre. The ventilation function was abandoned after health and safety rules changed in the year the tower was completed.
Queen Elizabeth II opened the tower in 1969. At 138 metres, it was then Liverpool's tallest structure. L1Local's guide to Liverpool's tallest buildings explains how it now compares with West Tower, the Royal Liver Building and newer towers at Princes Dock.
The original upper floor contained the Tower Restaurant. Its floor rotated so diners could see the city from different directions while remaining at their tables.
Historic England describes it as one of two rotating restaurants of its type in England, alongside the restaurant at London's BT Tower. The Liverpool restaurant closed in 1979, reopened in the early 1980s and at one stage used a Buck Rogers-style space theme before closing again.
A future restaurant would revive one of the tower's original uses. It would still need a viable operator and any required planning, heritage, safety and licensing approvals.
A refurbishment in 1999 and 2000 converted the former restaurant and observation space into radio studios. Historic England records that the revolving mechanism was fixed in place and the rooftop viewing platform was enclosed to provide another floor.
The yellow Radio City 96.7 lettering became part of the Liverpool skyline, and Radio City Tower became the name many people used for the building. Bauer Media later rebranded the station as Hits Radio Liverpool and did not renew its lease.
The final live broadcast from St John's Beacon took place on Christmas Eve 2024.
There are four developments to watch:
Until those announcements are made, the confirmed position is that the tower is closed, no selected operator has been named on the checked official pages and the three applications do not show decisions.
Search the three reference numbers in Liverpool City Council's planning system and check the official St John's Beacon homepage before making plans to visit.
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