Post by Teddy Bear on Nov 1, 2006 21:18:04 GMT
Why am I not surprised? Could we really expect anything else from this over-bloated despicable organisation?
BBC refurbishment £20m over-budget and a 'waste of money'
By Paul Revoir
The BBC has been accused of wasting money on a grand-scale after it was revealed that plans to give its most famous building a lavish face-lift are now £20m over-budget and over two-years behind schedule.
Corporation chiefs are now facing claims that the no-expense spared project on Broadcasting House is in danger of becoming a "white-elephant" at a time when the BBC wants a massive hike in the licence fee.
The cost of the project, which includes "specially conceived zones" for "creative discussion and interaction" as well as a public piazza and state-of-the-art air conditioning, will also infuriate BBC staff who are facing large-scale job loses, with 3,000 jobs being axed at the broadcaster.
Broadcasting House's rebuild was meant to be completed by September 2008. But the BBC is now admitting that it is not expected to be finished until October 2010.
The project, which was initially meant to cost £813m, covering both construction and development costs, is now running "approximately £20m ahead of the original plan" according to the corporation.
The BBC borrowed £813m in a bond-deal to finance the redevelopment, which it will have to pay back with interest on it over the next 30 years. The BBC has said it will fund the overspend through savings it is making.
Officials cannot say how much the project will now cost. "It is difficult to forecast [the cost] with exactitude on a project spanning ten years.
The overall ambition is certainly to bring the project in as near as possible to the original budget", the BBC said in its response to a freedom of information request.
The BBC is claiming that a number of "enhancements" to the initial plans have led to the spiralling costs on the project. This includes setting up state-of-the-art technology for its new Arabic service as well as adding TV facilities to its radio theatre. There has also been a refurbishment of Radio 2's headquarters in the adjoining "western-house".
A BBC spokesman said £13m had been spent on these additional projects, while a further £7m had gone on post 9/11 anti-terrorist enhancements to the scheme.
Broadcasting House is the "jewel in the crown" of BBC's properties and the new plans will see the creation of one of the largest newsrooms in the world. It will also have 140 "acoustic spaces" for radio and music, news and the world service. It is estimated that the new building will have 10,000 miles of cabling in it.
Broadcasting House will feature "glass facades" and "spacious walkways" along with exhibition areas and the BBC wants the building to be a major architectural landmark in central London. The BBC also promises that navigation around the building will be aided by "the use of colour".
The building was the first ever purpose built broadcast centre in the UK, when it was constructed in 1932 and is now a Grade II listed building.
The new project has been designed by Sir Richard MacCormac, but in October last year his firm was removed from the scheme amid claims of "creative differences" on the project. A new architect was brought in to finish MacCormac's original design. It is being built by Bovis and run by Land Securities Trillium.
Conservative chairman of the of the commons culture, media and sport select committee John Whittingdale said: "This is something which I very much hope the National Audit Office would look at very closely. This is precisely why the BBC should be subject to external scrutiny.
"For too long the BBC has been a byword for extravagance and waste and unfortunately this latest revelation is another in an all too familiar saga."
Director of pressure group Mediawatch UK John Beyer added: "I think this is a huge sum of money that is not going into programmes - that is what matters to people. There is an awful lot of money about which the BBC does not seem to be accountable."
Like some of our major media in the states lets hope the trend continues.