News on 24 October 2000
The BBC plans to spend millions of pounds moving its news
operation back into Broadcasting House. Three years ago, it spent millions
of pounds moving it out.
Commenting on the BBC move, Peter Ainsworth, the Conservatives' culture
spokesman, said: "Clearly this has been mismanaged. These are decisions
involving tens of millions of pounds of licence-payers' money. It seems
to me there has been a serious lack of forward planning."
The BBC however says the cost of the move will be funded by a private
partnership deal with a property consortium, which as earlier reported,
will be either the 2020 Insight or the Foresite Consortium (see
News story). It has promised it will not use income from licence fees.
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Television
Centre
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The company wants to redesign Broadcasting House and has
awarded architectural firm MacCormac Jamieson Prichard the contract after
it won a design competition. The BBC also wants to demolish two 1960s
office blocks and replace them with a hi-tech news centre for both radio
and television news operations by 2006. A BBC spokeswomen says the plans
for the redevelopment have not been finalised and the costs therefore
not yet estimated.
Rumours that the property consortium will gain a share of the freehold
are inaccurate. Property director Ian Robertson earlier said the company
will want to keep freeholds on Broadcasting House and Television Centre
since these are iconic buildings (see News
story).
