BBC Oxford Road, Manchester is no more...

Stigid · 28/08/12 - 15:33

British Bulldozing Corporation: Landmark BBC Manchester base on Oxford Road is demolished

http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1587389_british-bulldozing-corporation-landmark-bbc-manchester-base-on-oxford-road-is-demolished?rss=yes

RobinCarmody · 28/08/12 - 20:50

No great loss architecturally (not that 2010s "public" architecture is, in many cases, significantly better than 1970s public architecture was).

But farewell indeed to the Palace of Glittering Delights. The phrase "get to bed", which I still say as a sort of in-joke with my mum (who got all too used to it during my teenage Radcliffe obsession, long before I'd have touched Westwood), will have a slightly different meaning from now on ...

howard h · 28/08/12 - 21:17

It was a horrible building. Next door was the fab Kro Bar, which is now to be a Tesco express. Expect Tesco will have their eyes on the old BBC building!

ftv · 29/08/12 - 08:20

Oxford Road was hardly the BBC's most iconic building but a step up from Dickenson Road and the old news studio in Piccadilly. It was once claimed that Roger Moffatt, the announcer who lived next door, was seen entering Piccadilly BH in his pyjamas and dressing gown to read the 0650 regional news on VHF:D

banbury_oddball · 29/08/12 - 08:47

Well they pulled that building down a lot quicker than the ATV/Central studios in Birmingham which apart from the office building and canteen, the main studio block is still there after the Central Arena proposal stalled due to the recession.

bluesdiamond · 29/08/12 - 10:27

at least Manchester still has network production,,,unlike the Mailbox.

ftv · 29/08/12 - 11:57

bluesdiamond wrote: »

at least Manchester still has network production,,,unlike the Mailbox.

The Archers come from the Mailbox - does that count ?

Tiger Rich · 29/08/12 - 12:03

howard h wrote: »

It was a horrible building. Next door was the fab Kro Bar, which is now to be a Tesco express. Expect Tesco will have their eyes on the old BBC building!

I don't get why they went for that one, there are already five Tescos off the top of my head within about 15 minutes walk of it.

Completely passed my by that place getting knocked down though, wonder what'll happen with the site now.

ftv · 29/08/12 - 12:15

It was always said the site would be redeveloped although New BH could easily have been turned into a hotel or office block as it was basically an office block in any case !

[Deleted User] · 29/08/12 - 12:53

The building has been sold to a company called Realty Estates. Here's a relatively recent link to an article about their plans.

Slightly OT but does anyone know why Kro 2 closed? It used to be packed out on a weekend. I know Manchester has plenty of bars but the last thing we need is more Tescos. Unfortunately exactly the same happened in Didsbury.

BMR · 29/08/12 - 14:32

howard h wrote: »

It was a horrible building. Next door was the fab Kro Bar, which is now to be a Tesco express. Expect Tesco will have their eyes on the old BBC building!

There's already one Tesco Express down that road!

[Deleted User] · 29/08/12 - 14:34

Is this where Pebble Mill at 1 came from?

ftv · 29/08/12 - 14:55

ink171 wrote: »

Is this where Pebble Mill at 1 came from?

Pebble Mill was the name of the BBC studios in Birmingham (which also met the same demise and were demolished).

[Deleted User] · 29/08/12 - 15:09

They're making good progress demolishing it. The front bits still intact, but the middle of its gone & is just home to the claw arm grabber & big piles of ground down rubble. No doubt another glass / steel / concrete shed of no architectural merit will be plonked on the site, the areas crying out for more hotels & convenience shops selling tinned urine.

commseng · 29/08/12 - 15:47

The March 1976 Eng Inf internal BBC publication has lots of information about the build and design of New Broadcasting House.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/archive/pdffiles/engineering/bbc_engineering_102.pdf

It was designed to be efficient and "low cost", which for the 35 years or so while the technology changed beyond imagination, was quite a remarkable feat.

[Deleted User] · 29/08/12 - 21:50

commseng wrote: »

The March 1976 Eng Inf internal BBC publication has lots of information about the build and design of New Broadcasting House.

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/archive/pdffiles/engineering/bbc_engineering_102.pdf

It was designed to be efficient and "low cost", which for the 35 years or so while the technology changed beyond imagination, was quite a remarkable feat.

How very interesting. Can more of these BBC Engineering bulletins be found?

commseng · 30/08/12 - 12:41

For more of the BBC Engineering magazine have a look here:-
http://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/archive/

The later magazine was "Eng Inf" and they are on this website.

http://www.bbceng.info/Eng_Inf/eng_inf.htm

Staffsyeoman · 30/08/12 - 21:04

Oh my god... time is catching up with me...

My primary school has been demolished...
My grammar school has been demolished...
Pebble Mill has been demolished, where I was once in the audience of 'Pebble Mill at One' (oh yes, before 'Pebble Mill')

Now the very building where I went as part of a mob from the University recruited from the Students' Union for the first episode of 'The Oxford Roadshow' featuring an unknown Manchester drama student called Ben Elton... He was ruddy awful.

RealityRocks · 31/08/12 - 16:56

Sad really. I liked going past that building, always wanted to work there, but agreed, it wasn't the prettiest - looked a bit like a car park really!

I was in the ITV / BBC studios on Quay Street Manchester the other day, and as much as they serve a purpose they are getting on a bit really - hope they're not for the chop. I love the old Granada TV logo.

DJGM · 01/09/12 - 00:12

RealityRocks wrote: »

I was in the ITV / BBC studios on Quay Street Manchester the other day, and as
much as they serve a purpose they are getting on a bit really - hope they're not
for the chop. I love the old Granada TV logo.

The ITV Granada studio complex at Quay Street is very likely to meet a quite similar fate to the former BBC Manchester
studio complex on Oxford Road which is now being reduced to rubble. The 1950's ugly eyesore office block that forms
part of the Quay Street site is most likely to be bulldozed first, once ITV have moved to Trafford Wharf. They already
took down the iconic red GRANADA TV sign off the top of it over a year ago, due to "health and safety" issues.

Not sure what'll happen to the actual TV studios though. I think it's likely they'll get razed to the ground too, though it'd
be good if ITV could sell them as a going concern to another TV and/or multimedia company that could re-use them.

The big question is what might become of the current exterior set of Corrie, that's been there since 1982. The set was
refused "listed building" status earlier this year. I do believe the nearby Museum of Science and Industry have shown
an interest in acquiring the Corrie set, and integrating it as a museum attraction, but nothing has yet announced
or confirmed, so even Coronation Street as we currently know it could be doomed to demolition!

Stigid · 01/09/12 - 00:25

New Corrie set updates

http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1591151

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18398827#

ftv · 01/09/12 - 13:22

It's already been announced that Corrie will move to the new set in mid-2013 but I gather building is currently behind schedule because of problems on the site.

Hey there!

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BBC Oxford Road, Manchester is no more...

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