Site
for new BBC Local Radio station for Coventry and Warwickshire confirmed
The
BBC has signed a lease in Priory Place, Coventry City Centre, signalling
the first stage in the opening of a new BBC Local Radio station
for Coventry and Warwickshire.
The
station's new home the £20 million leisure and residential
development - will include a BBC Open Centre offering free access
to learning facilities similar to the already established centres
in Blackburn, Sheffield and Stoke.
It
will also be the base for the BBC Where I Live online team, provide
a newsgathering facility for the regional news programme BBC Midlands
Today and a performance space.
David
Holdsworth, Head of Regional & Local Programmes, says: "This
is fantastic news for the people in Coventry and Warwickshire.
"The
new station will house the latest technology, and is going to be
more than just a home for our broadcasting activities.
"As
well visiting the open centre, people can come in and see how the
BBC operates."
The
station is to be managed by David Clargo, and is due to start broadcasting
in 2005.
Priory
Place was developed by Complex Development Projects (CDP) in partnership
with Coventry City Council.
It
is part of the £60 million Phoenix Initiative which has transformed
a major part of the city centre with a series of public spaces and
squares, featuring public art and surrounded by new cafes, restaurants,
bars and apartments.
John
Moss, a director of CDP, said the deal was a further major step
forward for Priory Place and the city
"Priory
Place is set to be the place in the city centre where people come
to meet friends, eat and enjoy themselves and the BBC's arrival
will only add to that," he said.
"It
will offer a unique opportunity for people to drop in for a coffee,
surf the web and see BBC radio shows as they are broadcast throughout
the day and will give people another reason to enjoy Priory Place
and Coventry City Centre."
Notes
to Editors
BBC
WM currently serves Coventry and Warwickshire, including six hours
of programming every weekday from the Greyfriars Road studio.
Related
release
David
Clargo named editor of new BBC Local Radio station (14.10.03)
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