There was no reason why Westcountry couldn't have taken the building over really. TSW, through its legal action, put paid to Westcountry's plans for a new riverside studio complex so instead of having to source a new building it might have made better sense to move into the one that was already doing the job. It was probably down to boardroom egos and the petty rivalry between the two camps that TSW didn't sell to Westcountry, no doubt the same schoolboy squabbling which lead to Westcountry being denied promotional airtime on TSW during their final weeks (a rare occasion where TSW did not put the viewers first).
Alas, ITV plc would probably have ended up moving Westcountry in favour of the sort of nondescript industrial unit they ended up settling for.
As for Elstree being a "nondescript 1960s office block", look at all the TV shows it's appeared in - UFO (as SHADO HQ), EastEnders, Grange Hill, Holby City...if the BBC exits Elstree (God forbid) someone else could surely have a use for it.
The buildings that television companies inhabited before they built their much heralded studio complexes however are much more interesting. Theatres and Cinemas were routinely used - many have since been (ironically) demolished to make way for 60s office blocks. The Shepherds Bush Empire was the BBC TV Theatre until the early 1990s and is now restored and is a successful rock venue. That may well be listed... I believe ABC had a TV theatre which was demolished. Southern Television had one too I think.
Yes - ABC had the Capitol, Didsbury which was a direct take-over from ABC Cinemas. This was demolished a few years ago. Southern were originally based at the Plaza, Northam Bridge. They built the new studios next door, and the old cinema was pulled down once they'd moved into the new building.
Granada also had a theatre in London (can't remember which one now) which had previously been part of the Granada cinema chain, and the original ATV building at Aston was also a converted cinema.
Let's not forget the churches either, with the BBC having one in Manchester where TOTP started. I passed it some years ago and it looked intact at the time. BBC Wales also had a converted Methodist chapel, along with several houses in the street behind, which they didn't finally vacate until around 1981. This was destroyed by fire in the late 80s. The newsroom and film editing facilities were in a converted sunday school building, about a quarter of a mile away, which is still there and used as a music school now.
The TV building that I'm most concerned about losing is the BBC wing at Alexandra Palace where, certainly until recently, the studios were intact.
I also think ATV Centre has some merit, though it's being (been?) demolished soon.
I don't really think it has much merit really. It's not got a clever uniquie design like TV Centre, it's just a big grey concrete box the type of which Birmingham is doing so well to get rid of. It's the TV equivalent of New Street Station - functional but nothing special.
I think the frontage of the ATV Centre to Alpha Tower Plaza is interesting, and fits well with Alpha Tower's design - which of course was built as part of the ATV complex - and I think the tower is worthy of Listing, as indeed do the Council as it is at the top of their "Local List" - so if it were ever under threat it could be Statutorily Listed. At present most of the Tower is occupied anyway and is being internally refurbished.
However, the rest of the ATV Centre is bloody awful. There's work underway at the moment to remove all the plant and services from under the old studios (as they're shared with the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Alpha Tower - which are installing new independent plant) - once this is done (around February next year) then the ATV Centre will be cleared to make way, in part, for a 50+ storey tower - "V-Building".
For the record, I think TV Centre should be Listed in part. Wasn't it the first purpose-built TV Centre? It is certainly an iconic building and a good quality example of architecture from that time. The central "doughnut" and the wall of Studio 1 (with the lights and "BBC TELEVISON CENTRE" should be retained and I imagine could be easily converted to apartments - with a fantastic USP. The remainder of the studios and rest of the site could be cleared and freed up for other development.
Somehow, the BBC won't be the same for me once it's gone - I can't quite explain why I feel this, but I'm sure other Forumers understand?!
Aren't Granada's Manchester Studios listed anyway? They were fully operational before BBC Television Centre had even opened, so that makes them the oldest TV Studios in the UK if I'm right.
Plans have been mooted about for years about the future of the site, but nothing has been confirmed or things always changed, although I'm surprised they aren't in the Bonded Warehouse.
But saying that The Manchester Studios as they are now known always seem to busy so I don't see any reason for them to go, you can see them clearly from Salford (the view you see on Granada Reports) but if you drive down Quay Street you can't see them at all as a massive Office block for eSure was built on the old Car Park.
The News 24 countdown has to be revised to get rid of the shots of TVC (costing goodness knows how much)
Another studio somewhere in London has to be used for those who can't travel to Salford
BBC News is moving to Broadcasting House regardless anyway.
There is no way any TV centre should be listed for the sake of it - it's much better for the viewer the BBC can do what they want with it rather than being obliged to keep it running whatever the cost and however unsuitable it might now be for the corporation.
I also think ATV Centre has some merit, though it's being (been?) demolished soon.
I don't really think it has much merit really. It's not got a clever uniquie design like TV Centre, it's just a big grey concrete box the type of which Birmingham is doing so well to get rid of. It's the TV equivalent of New Street Station - functional but nothing special.
I think the frontage of the ATV Centre to Alpha Tower Plaza is interesting, and fits well with Alpha Tower's design - which of course was built as part of the ATV complex - and I think the tower is worthy of Listing, as indeed do the Council as it is at the top of their "Local List" - so if it were ever under threat it could be Statutorily Listed. At present most of the Tower is occupied anyway and is being internally refurbished.
However, the rest of the ATV Centre is bloody awful. There's work underway at the moment to remove all the plant and services from under the old studios (as they're shared with the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Alpha Tower - which are installing new independent plant) - once this is done (around February next year) then the ATV Centre will be cleared to make way, in part, for a 50+ storey tower - "V-Building".
For the record, I think TV Centre should be Listed in part. Wasn't it the first purpose-built TV Centre? It is certainly an iconic building and a good quality example of architecture from that time. The central "doughnut" and the wall of Studio 1 (with the lights and "BBC TELEVISON CENTRE" should be retained and I imagine could be easily converted to apartments - with a fantastic USP. The remainder of the studios and rest of the site could be cleared and freed up for other development.
Somehow, the BBC won't be the same for me once it's gone - I can't quite explain why I feel this, but I'm sure other Forumers understand?!
Yep - though looking at the original "back of envelope" design for TVC - you really have to retain the Spur (aka Stage IV) and Stage V bits for the question mark to appear!
If they must get rid of TV Centre, can't they turn it into, say, some sort of TV museum or something that retains the current look of TVC? There's too much cultural heritage there to simply bulldoze.
The studios are already big open spaces ideal for showing off tat from the last 40 years or even hosting unrelated exhibitions.
The TV building that I'm most concerned about losing is the BBC wing at Alexandra Palace where, certainly until recently, the studios were intact.
Yes - absolutely second that. The first home of the regular BBC TV service in 1936, which remained as a production centre for main BBC shows until 1969 (when moved to TV Centre) and continued to make Open University shows until the opening of the OUPC in the early 80s (which itself has since closed - Look East used to use the OU studios for their Children in Need opts in the late 80s)
If they must get rid of TV Centre, can't they turn it into, say, some sort of TV museum or something that retains the current look of TVC? There's too much cultural heritage there to simply bulldoze.
The studios are already big open spaces ideal for showing off tat from the last 40 years or even hosting unrelated exhibitions.
What exactly do you expect to see though - it's just a building of sets and offices. The only real constant is the Blue Peter garden - but every other set for any show has been demolished as the show came off air.
And at a time of BBC cost-cutting, how on earth could you justify them - or the Government - opening a £300m museum?