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Tyne Tees TV Studios - Hotel, Flats & Student Accom | Newcastle | Various | Completed

92K views 353 replies 46 participants last post by  Ken O'Heed 
#1 · (Edited)
Originally posted by Johnnypd in the Skybar and copied into the 'Media' thread . . .



This (as discussed on the 'Media' thread) is a sad situation, but it is going to happen . . . There are details of the 'demolition' application on the City Council website, but no news of what is planned to be built on the site.

Here is an earlier newspaper article about the proposed demolition . . .

Don't demolish iconic TV studio
Apr 23 2007 By Julia Bosnyak, The Evening Chronicle



A film editor on the 1980s hit music show The Tube has spoken of his sadness that Tyne Tees TV's former HQ could be bulldozed.

The programme, beamed live from studio five at the Newcastle City Road landmark, ran from 1982 to 1987.

Peter Bensimon, 60, of The Links, Whitley Bay said: "The news is such a shame.

"It brings back so many happy memories whenever I drive past the studios, it is terrible to think of it all closed up with nothing going on."

Aired on Channel Four for 90 minutes on Friday nights The Tube, presented by Jools Holland and the late Paula Yates, became a magnet for some of the biggest pop and rock stars.

Working as assistant film editor throughout the first four seasons before being promoted in the show's final year, Peter worked alongside legends ranging from Aretha Franklin to the Rolling Stones.

Peter said: "It was the most fantastic job and it never felt like work.

"When the show began it was difficult to book the acts and get them up to Newcastle, it was as if we were inviting them to the Arctic Circle.

"But by the final year, when The Tube was at the height of its success, they were tripping over themselves to appear.

"The Tube really put Newcastle on the map in the 80s, and helped launch a lot of music careers."

One singer to benefit from the show was Tina Turner.

"The night she performed was the most memorable of my time on The Tube," says Peter. "She was relaunching her career and it was one of her first appearances since her split with Ike Turner.

"Public Image and the Eurythmics were also playing, it was brilliant."

Named after the tunnel like walkway at the front entrance of the Tyne Tees building, The Tube came to an end in 1987.

Tyne Tees, which occupied the buildings for 46 years, crossed the river in 2005 to a new £6m digital centre near Gateshead MetroCentre.

Edinburgh developer Buccleuch Property bought the City Road site for £5m, then in November announced it had also bought the Egypt Cottage pub next door.

The ex-TV studios is expected to be bulldozed, and following consultations with residents and businesses, council officials are supporting a new mixed development there

__________

So, does anyone have any recent information on this, who the developer is, etc?
 
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#9 ·
I haven't seen anywhere that it is being developed. They haven't even submitted planning yet (unless I've missed it).

They're simply flattening it which I think is a shame, but totally understandable. The fairly recent abolition of empty rates relief by the numpties in charge means it is the only sensible thing for them to do in this situation.
 
#12 ·
Went past there on the way home this afternoon, and the main building is still untouched, but covered in scaffolding. The big studio (with the famous 'tunnel entrance' featured on the opening credits of The Tube every week) has now more than half gone.

Sad to see.

Took quite a few photos, while standing next to Roger Tames, while I was there!!!

Will download some shortly . .
 
#11 ·
Thanks!

Not sure when they bought it (buccleuurrcccchhhh: massive property company/investor/aristocracy family estate blah blah). If it was more than about 18 months ago then no doubt they'll be scratching their heads trying to work out what to build on there, that won't then sit vacant haemorrhaging cash.

My guess it'll be flattened, then sit for a few years until some occupier demand returns. Given current conditions and the number of office schemes proposed elsewhere (just looked through them all on the other thread!)...i reckon it'll be quite a while!
 
#14 ·
As mentioned, here are the photos I took today (9th February 2010) . .


Main Tyne Tees TV building, now covered in scaffolding . .



The main building with (to the left) the other two former Tyne Tees buildings being retained. They are already sold and refurbished, the office block on the corner was the Tyne Tees Head Office Suite, when it was an independent company, before the "Yorkshire TV" period . .



The, now obscured, Main Entrance and big "Tyne Tees Television" sign. Those big letters should be saved?



Shame about the Egypt Cottage, too. I knew someone from Procter Gamble's City Road offices directly opposite, in the 70s and 80s, so spent a LOT of time in there . .



This was such a FAMOUS view, nationwide and worldwide . . at the start of each weeks TUBE, looking up the "Big Tunnel" that started where the arch still is. Look at it now . .



A side-on view of the big studio used for 'The Tube' and all those other music programmes. Where I took this from is where Roger Tames was standing and looking, today . .
 
#15 ·
I dont think its a bad thing for sites like this to be cleared. Derelict buildings attract all kinds of social problems, and Battle Hill is not a great area at the best of times. But I do think the site should be brought into immediate temporary use.

NCC should talk to the owners about installing a car park on the site, which could dual as an events space for things like Evolution.... just until they are ready to redevelop.
 
#18 ·
Yes, the fomer Tyne Tees Management Suite building on the corner, and the one next to it (both refurbished and sold off many years ago) are remaining . . .

I am not sure what will happen to the large 'antenna' type structure!

The main building with (to the left) the other two former Tyne Tees buildings being retained. They are already sold and refurbished, the office block on the corner was the Tyne Tees Head Office Suite, when it was an independent company, before the "Yorkshire TV" period . .
 
#24 ·
Does anyone know of any other demolition specialists in the North East other than Thompsons of Prudhoe?! Fair play to them, they've cornered the market, but I never seem to see anyone else ever doing demolitions.

As for the Tyne Tees studio, it is a shame, but it's a much bigger site than I thought. Don't get me wrong, judging by a lot of the stuff built there recently they'lll put up something awful in its place, but it will at least be a huge amount of awful.
 
#26 ·
Tyne Tees TV Sudios Demolition

It has been very sad to see the demolition of the Tyne Tees TV Studios on City Road. Although they are not of great architectural significance, they were part of the culture of the North East. We were surprised however to see that Egypt Cottage, supposedly one of the oldest public houses in Newcastle has bit the bullet as well. It is an important site and one which requires careful consideration. We want a development of better quality than we have seen on other parts of East Quayside which started off so well at the western end only to be comprimised with the awful grey cladded aparment blocks opposite. I understand that Miller Construction are involved with the new development along with Buccleugh Estates. It will be interesting to see what is proposed.
 
#27 ·
It has been very sad to see the demolition of the Tyne Tees TV Studios on City Road. Although they are not of great architectural significance, they were part of the culture of the North East. We were surprised however to see that Egypt Cottage, supposedly one of the oldest public houses in Newcastle has bit the bullet as well. It is an important site and one which requires careful consideration. We want a development of better quality than we have seen on other parts of East Quayside which started off so well at the western end only to be comprimised with the awful grey cladded aparment blocks opposite. I understand that Miller Construction are involved with the new development along with Buccleugh Estates. It will be interesting to see what is proposed.
welcome to the forum, and id like to echo your views. This site is a bit like the S&N Brewery - the buildings were fairly poor and had been compromised a great deal, but they were also important for what happened inside their walls. Also, due to the size of the developments, it wouldve been better to at least incorporate some sections of the history, if only to provide a counterpoint and different grain to the inevitable modernity that will subsequently arrive. BTW, judging from your user name, are you representing the northumberland and newcastle society?
 
#28 ·
Tube’s famous glass tunnel bulldozed
Mar 4 2010 by Sara Nichol, Evening Chronicle


IT WAS the feature that gave the name to the one of the biggest music shows in TV history.

But now this arch is all that’s left standing of the famous tunnel at the former Tyne Tees TV studios, which gave hit 80s music show The Tube its title.

The rest of the iconic white building, which stood on Newcastle’s City Road, is now a mound of rubble as demolition work nears completion.

The Tube, fronted by Jools Holland and Paula Yates, was named after the plexiglass tunnel which led down into studio five where stars including Tina Turner, U2, INXS, REM and Culture Club appeared between 1982 and 1987.

Although it has now been bulldozed, the blue metal arch at the entrance was yesterday still standing.




And the iconic Tyneside pub The Egypt Cottage, which was sandwiched in between the two halves of the old Tyne Tees TV building and was also made famous by the show, has also been demolished, with only a couple of windows remaining.



The studios, which opened in 1959, pumped out a nightly regional news programme fronted by familiar names such as Paul Frost, Bill Steel, Mike Neville and Pam Royle.

But the studios also found fame at a national level with a whole range of programmes being produced on site for UK wide broadcast.

Some of the most memorable children’s TV and gameshows of the 80s and early 90s were filmed at City Road.

Among them were Razzamataz, Supergran, Chain Letters, presented by Jeremy Beadle and Dave Spikey, and Crosswits with Tom O’Connor.

Apart from the live shows, the studios also earned Tyne Tees a reputation for quality drama including many adaptations of Catherine Cookson novels.

Some of the links forged by people at Tyne Tees are still producing quality programmes today.

TV’s Hairy Bikers Si King and Dave Myers met and became friends at the adjoining pub The Egypt Cottage in between filming a Cookson feature.

Demolition company Thompsons of Prudhoe are carrying out the work. Staff have been on site since November slowly stripping the internal fixtures and walls and removing asbestos.

Apart from the studio building being demolished, the car park has also be removed and the land is set to be restored for future development.

The City Road studios were originally bought by Tyne Tees when they were two furniture warehouses, converting them into a studio and office complex.

The location was chosen because of its proximity to the telephone exchange in Carliol Square. Television signals were relayed by land-line from the studios to the switching centre; a distance between the studios and the exchange greater than one mile would have significantly increased the cost of receiving the networked programmes from the other ITV stations.

The complex initially contained four studios, with a fifth built in 1981 to accommodate productions for Channel 4. The Egypt Cottage and the Rose & Crown, which has now closed, became affectionately known as Studio 5 because of the amount of time that the station's staff spent in them.

The Tube was dropped in 1987 as a result of falling audience figures and an incident involving Jools Holland, who cursed during a live trailer.
 
#42 · (Edited)
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I know it is not strictly appropriate to the 'Tyne Tees Studios Project Thread', but continuing the Egypt Cottage theme.

I have just been reading an article written by one of the Newcastle Journal's music reporters, about the great days of the making of The Tube music show at Tyne Tees TV, and his visits next door to 'the Cottage'.

They definitely sound like interesting times, as he writes . . .


"I remember going in there for a quick pint one night, and there was Bono of U2 playing pool with Iggy Pop."

"The moment I really relish though, is walking into the Cottage one evening, and seeing Annie Lennox sitting in one corner and Tina Turner in another."


Jools Holland and Paula Yates outside the Tyne Tees TV Studios.


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