Stanhope’s plans to turn BBC Television Centre in White City, W12, into a mixed-use development have been given the green light by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
Stanhope plans to build a hotel, 1,000 residential properties and office and studio space for the creative industries on the 14-acre site. Plans also include a variety of public uses including a cinema and a park.
Television Centre was first opened in 1960 and has produced shows including Strictly Come Dancing, Blue Peter and Dr Who.
Stanhope bought the site from the BBC in 2012 for £200m with backing from Mitsui Fudosan and the Alberta Investment Management Corporation. The BBC has leased back Television Centre until 2015 for decommissioning works, when it will vacate the site, with the exception of three studios.
Infrastructure works at the site are expected to be complete by summer 2014.
David Camp, chief executive of Stanhope, said: “This is a major milestone in the evolution of Television Centre. We look forward to getting on with creating a vibrant quarter of London at Television Centre with an exciting mix of retail, leisure, office and residential uses, including the famous BBC Studios and BBC Worldwide’s new headquarters. Television Centre will be a great place to live, work and visit.”
Dominic Coles, BBC director of operations, said: “The sale of Television Centre was a key part of the transformation of the BBC’s property portfolio, which continues to save millions of pounds for licence fee payers every year. The decision last night is an important step in the regeneration of this iconic building and the BBC will continue working with Stanhope as the project develops.
Gerald Eve advised the development team on planning
