Trio in £200m BBC revamp

by Brian Warner

Three construction managers have switched on for a controversial £200m extension and revamp of the BBC's Broadcasting House nerve centre in central London.

The BBC has dropped two from the original list of five contenders and will now choose between Schal, Mace or Bovis Lend Lease. The curtain has come down on Heery and Amec.

It is understood that all five runners had to work up two bids for the scheme. The first was on a construction management basis and the second was a guaranteed maximum price tender.

The BBC has now finished interviewing the trio of hopefuls and is expected to make its final choice within the next week.

The scheme will span more than 80,000m2 and include extensive new build elements as well as refurbishing a listed building.

The project is expected to kick off in September with demolition tasks, and the redevelopment work carried out in two phases.

Completion of the whole project is expected during 2008.

Westminster council has criticised the Langham Place scheme, designed by architect MacCormac Jamieson Prichard, on the grounds of height and the materials to be used.

This has put the council on a collision course with CABE, the government's design watchdog, which has given the project the green light.

Council planners will discuss the issues again at the next committee meeting, scheduled for 27 June.

In a further complication, some of the bidders for the scheme originally expressed fears that competition might not be fair because of Bovis' close links to Land Securities Trillium, the BBC's property partner.