Bird’s eye view as machines tear down former BBC HQ
THE former BBC Wales headquarters is gradually being reduced to rubble as demolition work on the site in Cardiff gets under way.
About 1,000 BBC staff bade farewell to the old Broadcasting House in Llandaff in 2020, after nearly 55 years at the studios, and relocated to their new £120m headquarters in Central Square in the city centre.
Demolition work began at the former HQ at the start of this month, with new pictures showing diggers and cranes at the site and some of the old studio buildings now gutted and exposed to the elements.
Aerial photographs of the works show about half of the old Broadcasting House site has been demolished so far, while work has also started across the road at Ty Oldfield.
The former studios are being replaced by a huge housing development, which will see 364 new homes built in the popular Cardiff suburb.
The development at the split site – which consists of 10.5 acres at Broadcasting House and 6.95 acres at Ty Oldfield – will include one- and twobedroom apartments, as well as three-, four- and five-bedroom houses, which will be between two and four storeys high and a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced designs.
There will also be four apartment blocks at the site, which developers Taylor Wimpey say will be no greater than five storeys high.
Twenty per cent of the development, which has been described as “perfect for young professionals, couples and families,” will also be affordable housing for local people.
Taylor Wimpey purchased the former headquarters in April this year, having received reserved matters planning permission from Cardiff council in 2016.
It said that the site would be designed to “provide an interesting and safe community for people to live in” and “create a distinct identity”, while it will also improve the local cycle and pedestrian network by providing a new public link to the Taff trail.
The new development will also bring almost £1.5m in financial contributions to community infrastructure and facilities, such as local education services, highways and public open spaces.
Last year, the newly-shut site was used as a training facility by firearms units for around two months, with officers from South Wales Police, Gwent Police and Dyfed-Powys Police all taking part in weapons training.