BBC TVC planning application submitted

Developers Stanhope and the BBC this week submitted their planning application to open up and transform Television Centre into a mixed use development, which will include office and studio space for the BBC, complementary entertainment and leisure facilities, public open space, offices, housing and a hotel. This follows a second public exhibition in April where the detailed plans were shown.

Television Centre will be opened up to the public for the first time, and the famous forecourt remodeled and, we're promised, enlivened by new retail, leisure and entertainment uses together with access through the site providing connectivity with the local area, including Hammersmith Park.

The BBC will continue to have a significant presence at Television Centre: BBC Studios and Post Production will return in 2015 to operate three state-of-the-art studios to serve television production in the South East in addition to the BBC’s studios at Elstree, and provide new and enhanced facilities for BBC audiences, talent and production staff; and from 2014, BBC Worldwide, the BBC’s commercial operation, will move into a public-facing corporate headquarters fronting Wood Lane, following refurbishment of Stage 6.

The remaining office space will be aimed at occupiers in the creative sector providing new employment opportunities and there will be a variety of public uses, including a cinema, health club, restaurants and cafes, which will benefit the local community. The much-loved listed buildings at Television Centre will be retained. As part of opening up the site, the audience experience will be greatly enhanced with new facilities including a media experience planned at the heart of Television Centre.

David Camp, chief executive of Stanhope Plc, said:

“Since we acquired TV Centre in July 2012 there has been a tremendous team effort between our Project Team, the BBC and the Planning Authorities to pull together the planning application for this iconic site. A good deal of public consultation has also taken place and, we believe that this application will enable TV Centre to be rejuvenated to be the key hub within the White City area. Most importantly, for the first time in 50 years, the site will be opened up creating routes through the site and bringing new public life and spaces with a vibrant and exciting mix of retail, leisure, office and residential use. With the BBC’s on-going presence on the site including key operation BBC studios, we believe that Television Centre will be a great place to live, work and visit” 

Dominic Coles, BBC Director of Operations, said:

“We are very excited to be working in this unique partnership with Stanhope to redevelop Television Centre into a truly public space that builds on its history, protects its place in the local community and greatly improves the audience and visitor experience, with better facilities and attractions for those coming to see shows recorded in its iconic studios from 2015. This development will not only deliver a legacy befitting a site of such historical significance but also is part of a BBC property strategy which is maximising value for money for the licence fee payer and releasing fresh funding for programming making.”