BBC Scotland, Grampian,Scottish and Border TV Thread

The new BBC Scotland Studios are due for completion late 2004/ early 2005. It will have live views overlooking Glasgow without using cameras. Does this mean that the news studio will have a backdrop of Glasgow again?

Last time I watched, it still did - although the view of Glasgow is only seen on two-shots, so generally only a couple of times per programme. And on the 1930 bulletin only.

It's the same shot as the webcam at http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/webplay/webcams/webcam.shtml?image=glasgow

For anyone who's interested, the new BBC building is about a quarter of a mile to the right of the camera, just on the other side of the river. Last time I went past there, there wasn't much evidence of actual building taking place, just a big empty site.

Will this be a building to rival the current one at Queen Margaret Drive? I hope they will not strip Scotland of another broadcasting facility as SMG has at Grampian and if believed are about to do to STV at Cowcaddens?

No, they will be closing the one down at Queen Margaret Drive.

They've put a lot of planning into the new place - a team has been working on it for at least 3 years now. It should be good, as long as they have budgeted for enough space.
I hear things are going to be a bit tight at The Mailbox, the new Birmingham base. They haven't even moved in yet and there doesn't seem to be room for everything. (Pebble Mill gets bulldozed at the end of 2004)
At least with the Glasgow building it is on a vacant site, being built from scratch, so there's no excuse for it being too small.

Queen Margaret Drive is a big site - and the old part is probably a listed building - I wonder what will happen to it after the BBC leave?

That's BBC Birmingham for you.

yes, because everyone at pebble mill got together one morning and decided they'd like to move into the city centre cos they felt they were not paying enough for their car parking and wanted to be closer to that christian bookshop.

no, fool, it was a decision taken in london. the renovation of pebble mill was deemed *more* expensive than squashing the entire operation into mega high rent retail space - bearing in mind the pebble mill site is rented at a peppercorn rate, and thus the sale of the land will not benefit the beeb at all.

so yes, perhaps you ought to keep your glib comments to yourself, nob head.

Why is Pebble Mill getting bulldozed?

The new owners want to build their own buildings...

Queen Margaret College, which Broadcasting House was built around, is almost certainly listed - it was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. And apparently parts of it (the medical school, no less) are haunted. Late night continuity shifts on BBC 2 require a certain amount of nerves, I'm told.
Studio 1 is possibly listed too - that's the large radio studio that's bit enough for an orchestra. (It can be seen here)

As for a future use for BH? Housing, I'd imagine. It's pretty expensive in the West End of Glasgow at the moment, but, ironically, that's largely due to the BBC...

Shame to see such a Historical site being pulled down, the good old days of Pebble Mill at One, honestly it is, I think someone said that they had pulled down ATV's old studios in Birmingham, but I assume that Pebble Mill is a rather 1960's ugly looking building.

(I've said it before and I'll say it again) Shame it isn't the same for Oxford Road.