Television Centre Preservation Petition

Although it is a shame to see the BBC move out of TV Centre, you've got to see the big picture, and you can't stay there if it's not feasable or viable.

What would be a shame though is if the site is not preserved, TV Centre is an important building, it's if you like the Palladium or the globe theatre of our time, and really we should preserve the look of it at least and ideally some tv studio capabilities. as a mark of how important the building is.

The BBC has a requiment to media operations (tv/radio/online) from the Licence fee not to look after buildings that don't suit them anymore.

So the ideal soloution must be for TV Centre to become a listed building (or is it to a degree already?) and for an independent studio provider to take over the running of the studios with the offices being renovated and let out to whoever whants them! you never know could end up being the BBC!

Shame they are moving out, hope they don't knock down TVC (surely this building is more up-to-date than LWT's, seeing as they have expanded that in recent years & Kent house doesn't look like much has happened to it for years?)

On a rather selfish note when they move out of TVC I hope they find some of those missing tapes that have been hidden away for ages (especially any Troughton Who)

Given the age/style etc of TVC, I would assume that it's either asbestos ridden or suffering from "concrete cancer", or is in some other way a not-particularly-good-condition building? Also, the architectural style of it has always seemed ugly to me. I won't particularly miss it.

The original poster suggests the building will be asbestos free by the end of the first quarter of this year.

Theres a lot of bizarre things being said in this thread, like, "If it can't be used by the BBC it shouldn't be torn down".

If the building has to be maintained due to listed status, then the BBC will lose out on its potential value as a site to be built on. Anyone buying it to develop the site will likely reduce their offer given the limitations on a listed building.

That's a lose/lose scenario for the BBC.

Make your minds up, folks.

True, but I don't really care about the BBC in all of this. The fact is a cost cutting/money making thing is irrelevent. The build is a vital part of our history and deserves to be saved from developers. It could quite easily be kept in use by an inde or other media company. I don't mind the BBC moving out, but I don't want it knocked down.

You could say that the BBC might loose out in the fact they have spet to have two studios equipped for HD / Digital etc, the fact that they have just paid out to have the absestos removed, or that they are probably going to see once the real estate value is not at it maximum!

Just because a building is listed doesn't necisarily detract fromn the value, depending ofcourse on the status of the listing! it could be that they are just not allowed to alter the front of the building, etc!

Also it is a good example of post war office design, so as a building without it's national importance, it would be a good example to save to show that london isn't just georgeon, victorian, or current!

I would of thought that the studio space that is there would be whipped up by a independent, it might though mean the end of one or two of the other indepepndent london studios!

A couple of points to avoid confusion, there should be no asbestos by March 2008 which is when TC3 is sheduled to be ready for use. The reason for the petition is to save TVC & the associated jobs which will go with it - The present BBC management should not be trusted to look after a packet of biscuits never mind a viable building & creative workplace.

As for listing the building costing it money, the BBC is a dab hand at losing out to most of its deals, The lightbulb fiasco contract, consultancies and indecision over the Broadcasting House redevelopment are just a few, so expect the money wasting to go on and on.

No lessons were learned from the Birmingham debarcle. It now costs more to make the same programme, i.e. Doctors, than it did when they had Pebble Mill. Despite a bit of creative accountancy, running 3 sites has put most of the production costs up. In addition The Shoebox is hardly a flexible production centre - which is one of the reasons they lost the One Show.

The figures are slowly emerging for the real cost of transfering staff to Manchester - and despite the spin it isn't a cheap place to live - just because it's 'North' it doesn't make it cheap'

Are you sure about that?

My understanding is that there should be no "exposed asbestos" once TC3 has been dealt with. However if you wander round TVC you see the standard asbestos hazard stickers (warning you to report any damage which could be hazardous - asbestos is only a major danger when it is able to produce loose fibres) on lots of things like doors etc.

AIUI it was thought that all asbestos that could cause harm had been removed when the studios were re-furbed in the late 80s/early 90s. It wasn't until it was discovered that asbestos fibres could escape through the cable trunks to the wallboxes in studios like TC5, TC2 and TC3 that each studio (though not gallery in every case - as TC5's galleries stayed on-air working into TC2's floor) was taken out of service for further asbestos removal work.

This has also meant that anyone who has worked in these studios has had to register in case they develop asbestos related disease later in life. This could be an issue with the sale of BBC Resources and/or TVC - as someone has to assume the liability for this exposure.

I have seen no suggestion that the current work is removing 100% of the asbestos - just ensuring that asbestos that could be exposed to staff and public is being removed. (As it had been thought it already had been...)



I think there were bigger reasons than the lack of Mailbox facilities - after all the current One Show had been coming from almost identical facilities (i.e. an OB truck parked in a loading bay) until Christmas. It isn't as if they are using the production facilities at TV Centre - they are using BBC OB Resources after all...



Though in this case the BBC doesn't have a choice - it is a stipulation of the current charter renewal that the BBC move to Salford (though this is partially because the BBC threatened to pull out of the move if the licence fee settlement was low and the govt called their bluff)

I hope they do knock it down , no one can reuse it - it is absoulutley riddled with asbestos.