Goodbye ATV/Central Studios

Work has started on the demolition of the old ATV/Central studios in Birmingham.

I found this link with some (EDIT) interesting pics:

http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=23617&highlight=birmingham

Whether or not these pics are "great" is a matter of opinion, given the subject matter.

Some more 'great' pics in this thread:
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=23646

The problem at 28dayslater is that the pictures are too artistic to have a good gawp at what's going on most of the time!

shame about the loss of TV stuff but IIRC isn't the building itself structurally unsound?

I think so, a lot of those buildings suffer from "Concrete Cancer" and if they can't be recased they have to pull them down (lots of London Borough tower blocks have been pulled down due to this, amongst other things)

Isn't the tower listed though? I though it was all the bits below that were to be pulled down.

Shame no one took those Central/Carlton boards down

http://www.rp-network.com/tvforum/uploads/central.jpg

Hmm... what are the 4 coloured zones of that map?

All three Carlton Central sub-regions, plus the Carlton London region? (Seeings as it is a Carlton-branded sign. Although London is irrelevant in Birmingham... )

EDIT: Or different transmitter areas of the Central West sub-region? (Would it be that shape, pre-Herefordshire?)



What a melodramatic name for a structural condition!
(I heard the expression for the first time a few months ago and thought it was daft)

Does anyone know who currently owns the TVS/Meridian studios in Southampton. I'd love to get one last look around and document the place before its knocked down, which I think will happen rather soon. I've been trying to find out for a while now, anyone on here know?

dsm are demolishing it! The Pebble Mill Slayers

I know, Concrete Cellulite would be more accurate seeming as the concrete becomes all bumpy

There're no structual problems with the buildings (although I think the weird shaped roof leaked) but they are just not adaptable for other profitable uses - they've no economic life in them. There's going to be a new office and residential development built there around a new public square - like Brindleyplace (for those who know it).

Alpha Tower is only Locally Listed which doesn't afford it the same level of protection as a Statutorily Listed Building - although I recall that it is at "Grade A" which means the City Council would recommend it for Statutory Listing if it was ever under threat (which it's not).

At present, the services and plant that serves Alpha Tower and the Crowne Plaza Hotel is being relocated from under the studio complex to the top of the buildings (hence the red workman's lift on the side of the Tower in some pics).

I wonder if anyone out there in TV Forum Land has other pics of the Studios in their hayday?

Yes, that's exactly what it is

London might seem unimportant to you, but to the sales department it almost certainly was!