BBC Buildings

Just Polls
and this
BBC Birmingham Network Production Centre Was the first Network Production Centre in the United Kingdom To House Every Thing
4 Television Networks, 4 Radio Networks, Local Radio WM, Regional TV and The Worlds Longest Running Radio Soap The Archers. It Was the home of the Midlands Radio Orchestra and The Only TV Centre in the world to have a Chat Show Come from its Foyer. It was demolished Because

Rubbish, The BBC Can't Be Bothered To Maintain The Comlexes they own and they have to reduce the amount of studio space they owned

In depth for you.


Apolgies for any spelling mistakes and bad grammar.

Ah, good to see you've started an in-depth discussion on some of the interesting BBC properties across the country, and not just posted a fairly pointless poll about a now-demolished studio complex.

If that's a thread you want to see, then start it yourself.

I think BBCMIDSTODAY raises an interesting point. It's simply poor management and tight fistedness to allow a building to get into such a state of disrepair (if that was the case). Gradual and frequent maintenance over the years would have surely be less costly than the move to the Mail Box. If managers have little commitment to their job this leads to what is known in Industrial Economics as truncated horizons - a lack of foresight restricting necessary and beneficial investment.

just like BBC TV centre in London....

The fact they had to film Doctors in the foyer because some red tape stopped them using proper studios a few feet away really shows the professionalism involved in utilising their facilities.

I visited pebble Mill in 1987 on a college trip (our media tutor was Arnold Peters- Jack Wolley in the Archers). We got a grand tour of everything and saw the Pebble mill set, Telly Addicts set in bits, the archers studio and local radio studios as well.

sad it's all gone now, didn't have a very good camera then so haven't got any photos

to answer the question, yes they should have kept it. It's like the officials who carved up our railways with a complete lack of foresight. It's not viable now so it will never be viable again

Sounds like the standard blinkered BBC reasoning for the move.

Not sure who he is, but he's completely missed the following fairly important points (obtained from various people who worked there, past and present):

Most of the staff were against the move, but were mostly ignored as it has all been decided.
The ultimate cost for moving to the Shoebox (not my words, BBC Brum's staff term for it) was more than it would have cost to fix Pebble Mill and stay there. When they realised this (before they left Pebble Mill) all contracts had been signed, exchanged and they had no choice but to carry on moving in the face of escalating costs.
Vast amounts of usable equipment had to be either left behind (and therefore now destroyed) or sold off for a pittance when it was realised that there wouldn't be room to store it.
New equipment bought and paid for, but left to rot because it wasn't the correct type for the new facilities.
There's next to no parking available for staff. Pebble Mill had a rather large car park. Now the Mailbox doesn't even have spaces available for its OB vehicles which are stored in a grotty little lock-up half a mile away.
Mailbox staff & security are of no help to BBC staff when it comes to out of hours access.
...and it's still nowhere near big enough, and probably can never be (unless they were to buy the whole of the Mailbox complex, which they wont)

A crying shame. IMHO.

What thread was the original Kevin Reed BBC Midlands Today quoted from? (Is that the reporter Kevin Reed?)

If they stayed at Pebble Mill, would we have had the likes of the public space?

I don't think so!

Plus Birmingham City Centre is 1 to 2 buses for most people.

If I had gone to Pebble Mill, it would be 3 buses, Bloxwich to Walsall, Walsall to Brum, Brum to Pebble Mill!

Reporter - Has he left MT??

i'm no mailbox fan, but ...

there is a staff carpark at the horsefair, also home to the ob van


the mailbox complex is always open, and there is access to the bbc 24/7

I was there a few times shortly before Pebble Mill closed and the studio was being used for Doctors - and the "foyer" that the reception of the surgery and the "Lether Bar" (sounded quite seedy that!) was in had been the original Pebble Mill at One studio and the Good Morning with Anne and Nick studio - so there was a history of making programmes in that part of the building.

It is very sad that it has gone though, more for the inability to broadcast networked programmes from a studio in Birmingham now (such as the One Show).

unable? the one show proved that it could be done - all be it with investment.

From a Portakabin yes... And where's the One Show going to come from now on a permanent basis?