A few weeks ago, some ITV staff mentioned on Twitter that they had just seen the plans for the new ITV Towers. I assume they haven't been released publicly yet, because I can't find them online.
To design a building of that sale from scratch will take a significant amount of time (measured in years!). As part of that process, stakeholders will be asked for feedback on potential designs, long before an actual planning application is put in. For ITV to go public on the plans to develop the site, it probably means they had got to the point where they were being to talk to enough third party groups that keeping the idea from leaking would be impossible, so the plans will be advanced, but unlikely to be finalized enough to the point of sending them to the council.
I've been involved in several new builds, and we've had copies of the plans months before they've been made public (It's always fun looking through the plans sent to the council and comparing them to the ones you have to see what things have been changed and you've not been told about).
To design a building of that sale from scratch will take a significant amount of time (measured in years!). As part of that process, stakeholders will be asked for feedback on potential designs, long before an actual planning application is put in. For ITV to go public on the plans to develop the site, it probably means they had got to the point where they were being to talk to enough third party groups that keeping the idea from leaking would be impossible, so the plans will be advanced, but unlikely to be finalized enough to the point of sending them to the council.
I've been involved in several new builds, and we've had copies of the plans months before they've been made public (It's always fun looking through the plans sent to the council and comparing them to the ones you have to see what things have been changed and you've not been told about).
Indeed, I suspect completion of the project won't be less than 5 years from now, and closer to 10,
Take BBC Cardiff's new building as an example, announced Aug 2013, plans confirmed Nov 2015, look like being operational early 2019
A few weeks ago, some ITV staff mentioned on Twitter that they had just seen the plans for the new ITV Towers. I assume they haven't been released publicly yet, because I can't find them online.
I have seen the new plans and they are interesting. In the 3D rendering, the tower remains, (or at least it looks very similar) - although the visual 'fly through' ignores it, which leads me to believe it will be a residential property and no longer office space.
The new building style is like a plaza, with a central feature and the three studios forming a central part of the building. All very modern/glass clad etc. There seems to be a rooftop bar/garden too, with the Southbank side looking significantly different.
I'd love to share the video, but I'm not sure it's allowed!
With regard to the name "BBC Television Centre" - this is not me wanting to tear the name BBC off of it. The owners have now referred to it as simply "Television Centre". The BBC gave up the right to have their name on it when they made the mistake of selling the complex in the first place.
Well, I don't think anyone here can disagree that selling TVC was a mistake. There was no need to go chasing the money...
There was though.
The Licence fee was frozen for 5 years, and that was a real terms year on year cut in operating budget.
You can only cut so much, before the audience notices.
Despite what the Daily Mail editor might want middle England to think, just because the it's the BBC doesn't mean either the internal or external independent programme making sector would do the job for free - because it's the BBC.
Selling off a building - which was in need of a major referb - so let someone else do it, whilst still retaining some programme making facilities at the site (and the letters BBC are still above the door in Wood Lane) was the difficult comprimise to make.
Anyway, this is about Good Morning Britain - and ITV programme - , so I'd better drag it back on topic..
(clears throat)
When the ITV programmes have to move out of ITV Towers for the rebulid, I suspect GMB may actually end up in TC2 at Television Centre. TLS5 and TC2 must be pretty similar in usable floor space.
If they did go to TC2, or another similar studio location, I would presume that ITV would probably make a long term booking of the studio to keep the set standing. A flexible set would allow them to redress it for other productions if required.
The same goes for Loose Women, This Morning and Lorraine - they will probably need a long term booking somewhere as they would need to use it five mornings a week.
As has already been mentioned, the problem will be where they will end up as studio space is becoming increasingly limited at the moment. Of course, there's also nothing to say that ITV might use office space and convert it for studio use for something like GMB as an interim measure. They would probably want a space that had the ability to be close to the production team at all times - I'm not sure there's actually office space at TC2 for the production team to be nearby so it wouldn't necessarily be practical, even though the studio dimensions would fit their requirements.
:-(
A former member
What I woudl like to see is This morning moved to another location, I still mist those Albert docks. What about Maidstone?
GMB would really need a standing set in its new location for the same reason it has one now. GMB might easily be extended and the studio be in use for longer than expected (take the Brussels attacks last year for example) which could cause an issue with other studio booking later in the day. Also as a general rule of thumb news programmes have standing sets and it came in useful in the case of the Westminster attacks when there was a special edition of Tonight.
I can see them doing some changing around to have GMB and Peston from the same set (with maybe some panels which get dragged infront of the GMB set).
Whatever the solution I'm sure they'll have sorted something out before deciding to close TLS next year. TVC would probably work and is still iconic enough to have the VO do a "LIVE from Television Centre in London. This is Good Morning Britain..."
no one knows your name anyway!