MediaCityUK Round-Up: new tenants, £3m roundabouts and the cost of living at MediaCity…
posted Tue 09th Feb, 2010
- Two new tenants have moved into The Pie Factory at MediaCity - MK-V, who make camera stabilisation systems, and Web Potential Ltd (autoplay video alert!), a web-video presenting company.
The new tenants are taking advantage of additional space that has been created, and join the broadcast systems integrator TSL and Toasted Productions, who both opened offices at The Pie Factory in the past six months. - A £3million roundabout refurbishment known as the 'quays gateway' has attracted criticism after being mentioned in Private Eye. Salford Council have approved plans to make a pedestrian 'destination' out of the roundabout at the end of the M602 - by relocating cranes and adding new pedestrian crossings and lighting. You can view the full plans here (2mb pdf).
The plans have been attacked by the Salford Star, but the Council have defended the plans at Salford Online, saying, "We are not talking about some minor modifications to an insignificant traffic island here, we are talking about a major engineering undertaking for the city’s busiest intersection...It is the natural gateway to our city and to the flagship developments of Salford Quays and MediaCityUK." Read more here, and at the Star. - Finally, the cost of living above the BBC has become clear, after Peel published a residential brochure for the two apartment blocks at MediaCity - 'TheHeart' and 'NumberOne'. Prices start at £135k for a one bedroom apartment. A quick search for apartments at the Quays shows those prices are fairly standard, - but if you had your eye on that £350k penthouse at NumberOne, you're out of luck as it's already sold.
Local photographer James Lester was not impressed however, as he tweeted, "Just come back from @mediacityuk apartments. Verdict: Great view, great broadband, if you like living in a cupboard. Very disappointed."
Other notable mentions this week:
- Claire Rainford, the head of Communication North with the BBC, is to become the head of communications across the BBC’s Children's and Learning departments, which will relocate to MediaCity in 2011. More info at How-Do.
- Looks like MediaCity will have it's own dentist - plans have surfaced for one to be located under the multi-storey car park alongside Booths. (from SkyScraperCity).
- Jason Legget, Head of Business Development at MediaCity will be speaking at the Navigating Media City event on 9th March at the Waterside Plaza in Sale. The event, put on by Creative Industries Trafford, will be an 'insiders' guide to the realities, opportunities and who's who of the MediaCityUK'.
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New Blue Peter garden found, on the roof of MediaCityUK Studios
posted Sun 22nd Nov, 2009 - 07:33 PM | 2 comments
The new home of the Blue Peter garden in Salford Quays has been spotted, up on the roof of the MediaCityUK Studios block.
The location was pointed out on a planning document over at the MediaCity thread on SkyscraperCity.
The new garden is tucked around the corner from the main piazza, and presumably will only be viewable from adjacent offices and apartments (quite a unique selling point if you're a big Blue Peter fan).
You can see the new location on the image below, or the planning document right here.
Back in July it was reported that the Blue Peter garden was to be replaced with a virtual version, but that was quickly denied by the BBC. Unfortunately, the remains of George the tortoise (the only Blue Peter pet buried in the garden) won't be making the move North.
(thanks to CDX at skyscrapercity for the spot!)
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BBC accused of ‘bribery’ over allowances for MediaCityUK movers
posted Mon 09th Nov, 2009 - 10:27 PM | 2 comments
This week the shadow culture secretary Jeremy Hunt accused the BBC of 'bribing' staff to make the move to Salford Quays.
He was referring to the issue of London 'weighting' allowances (up to £4k a year), which BBC staff relocating from London to MediaCityUK will continue to be paid for the remainder of their careers.
Hunt said, "For the BBC to be using licence-fee payers’ money in this way beggars belief. Money should be spent on producing great programmes, not bribing people who want to stay in London to move to Salford."
The BBC has defended itself, saying it is "common practice" for employees to keep weightings when relocating out of the capital and that, "It would be unreasonable to expect staff to take a reduction in earnings as part of this process." (more at the Times).
The issue has prompted comments galore at the Times and How-Do, and the Salford Star has labeled it an 'apartheid wage system' that prefers London staff to new recruits.
It doesn't really matter how the BBC tries to justify it's various relocation incentives - in the middle of a recession these allowances are never going to go down well. And with a Conservative government breathing down it's neck, chances are we'll see less of these generous packages in the future (though probably no less media coverage).
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In some not-entirely-unrelated news, here's a cool little video from some Salford youngsters who visited MediaCityUK recently (featuring a very relaxed looking Peter Salmon):
Hopefully by the time these kids land jobs at MediaCity that £4k a year won't seem like such a big deal.
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MediaCityUK round-up: Holiday Inn announced, keys handed over, plus much more!
posted Fri 30th Oct, 2009 - 12:28 AM
It's been a month since our last update, so you must be desperate for your fix of MediaCity-related news. We won't keep you waiting any longer:
- Yesterday it was announced that the 218-bed hotel at MediaCityUK will be a Holiday Inn, complete with bar, restaurant and gym facilities. Andrew Gill, Vice President of Development for IHG (Holiday Inn), said: “Signing the Holiday Inn Manchester MediaCityUK in such a tough economic climate is testament to the strength of the Holiday Inn brand...It’s an ideal location and we’re confident the hotel will be an asset to the development.”
- Earlier this month the BBC were given the keys to building C, future home to Radio Five Live, BBC Sport and local and regional news. Channel M was at the handover ceremony, and took the opportunity to question Salford locals on the impact of MediaCity:
- BBC presenter Gabby Logan is being tipped to make the move to Salford Quays in 2011, as she is set to host a new daily show on Radio 5 Live. Logan doesn't seem to be directly replacing any other presenter - it's just part of the ongoing shake up of 5Live. More details at the MEN.
- Plans for a video game 'development hub' based at MediaCity have been in the news this week, after reports that work could start on the project as early as next summer. The idea was originally discussed in the Digital Britain report, but has since been criticised by those preferring the project be based in Liverpool or Dundee (already home to a number of gaming companies). Crain's currently has a poll about the subject, and (somewhat unsurprisingly) 60% of readers think MediaCity is a better option than Liverpool. Just another thing we can fight about.
- Jason Legget, Head of Business Development at MediaCityUK will be speaking at the Creative Industries Networking Group (CING for short) birthday party on 2nd November at Rain Bar in Manchester. Jason will be outlining the current status of developments at MediaCityUK, and sharing his strategy and opportunities for making MediaCityUK a success. We can personally recommend CING as a great meetup for anyone involved in the creative industries (full of friendly people!), so get yourself down there if you're interested.
- Finally there are a handful of new BBC positions over at MediaCityUK Jobs - all unfortunately based in London for the time-being, moving to Salford 2011. Still, if you fancy living in the big smoke for a few years, check 'em out.
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45% of BBC staff say yes to MediaCityUK, and more are interested
posted Mon 05th Oct, 2009 - 10:49 PM
The BBC's final deadline for London-based staff to decide on the MediaCityUK move has now passed - and 45% of rank and file staff have said yes.
That number may look familiar, because it is almost exactly the same percentage who agreed amongst middle managers and executive staff.
As previously mentioned, this is a higher percentage than was expected - as Richard Deverell (Chief Operating Officer BBC North) alludes to: "I would like to thank all staff for their professionalism at this challenging time. The leadership team is delighted with the number and calibre of staff from across the moving departments but appreciate that the move is not right for everyone."
But what about the 55% who said no? The BBC says they will try to 'redeploy' them where possible, but if that fails they will be made redundant when the move finally happens.
In a somewhat unexpected development, it's been revealed that nearly 1,000 other BBC staff members have expressed an interest in relocating to Salford - putting a possible dent in the number of jobs available for local hopefuls. However, How-Do points out that 'expressing an interest' means nothing more than registering for info on the staff intranet... so there's hope yet!
The BBC is expected to initiate a recruitment drive shortly to fill those vacant spaces, so watch this space for further information.
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I've just fixed the commenting system on the blog, which appears to have been malfunctioning for the past month or so. Apologies to anyone who has posted recently without any success, please do post again if you can be bothered! Jun 08, 2009 - 10:16 PM
CBBC are looking for new drama writers - if you fancy a future job at MediaCityUK check it out - http://bit.ly/10wvA0 May 20, 2009 - 07:14 PM
Not a lot of MediaCityUK news to report since the ITV bombshell, except perhaps this article from the FT about the positive impact MediaCityUK is likely to have on Salford and the surrounding areas. The article also provides a quick introduction to the local housing market - useful if you're looking at relocating to Salford. Mar 26, 2009 - 06:04 PM
Debate about the BBC's staff relocation packages continues to rumble on and on - Liz Hunt at the Telegraph says, "I can't be the only taxpayer with northern credentials who feels insulted by the implication that having to up sticks from the South East is akin to an enforced relocation to Mogadishu or Harare." (full article here). Meanwhile, Andy Spinoza at How-Do offers some relocation advice to BBC staff - "Some media people will find the value, community, and friendliness on offer in the likes of Monton and Eccles more appealing than the fancy nick-nack shops of Didsbury..." (full article here). Mar 12, 2009 - 07:22 PM
The Manyoo apartment towers in Salford Quays will be built, despite one of the developers behind it going into administration, reports the MEN. Manyoo will have 1,036 apartments over four towers that will `quite literally change the skyline of Salford Quays'. Mar 04, 2009 - 01:04 AM
Interesting article over at The Life of Wylie about the problems piling up for ITV; chief amongst them the need to make a decision about selling the Manchester site in Quay Street and moving to MediaCityUK, Salford. (via SalfordQuays.org) Feb 18, 2009 - 08:54 PM
Former journalist Aziz Rashid has been announced as the new head of BBC North West - "we have an exciting future ahead with our move to Salford Quays in 2011." (full article at the MEN) Feb 17, 2009 - 05:09 PM
The Guardian has a short article about some of the problems facing HBOS, one of which (according to the Guardian) is their £350m backing of MediaCityUK. (via SalfordQuays.org) Feb 17, 2009 - 05:00 PM
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