BBC to leave some buildings in London and MediaCity Salford amid cost cutting

The BBC has announced it will be leaving some buildings as part of its work to cut costs and invest more in content.The corporation said on Wednesday it will exit Wogan House, close to its Broadcasting House in London, and Bridge House in MediaCity, Salford.Wogan House was formerly known as Western House prior to 2016, when it was renamed after the late Irish broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan.It was used by the BBC for design until the late 1980s and is now home to Radio 2 and 6 Music programme teams along with staff from other BBC departments.Bridge House is home to BBC Children’s and Education and some BBC Sport and operations.The corporation said it will move staff at its London site to Broadcasting House and in Salford to other MediaCity sites like Quay House and Dock House.The BBC said the decision to leave its leased buildings was also part of its efforts to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and complements its adoption of hybrid working.In June 2021, ITV announced it would take over the BBC’s offices in Broadcast Centre in White City on a 13-year lease after the corporation vacated the building.The BBC also announced on Monday it would overhaul its local radio services with stations sharing more content and broadcasting less programming unique to their area.Plans confirmed by the broadcaster include the loss of 48 jobs across local staffing in England, amounting to a total reduction of 2%.The local radio proposals come as part of the BBC’s new strategy, announced in May, to create a ‘modern, digital-led’ broadcaster.In September, it announced that 382 jobs at World Service will be cut as part of plans to move to a digital-led service.Regional TV news programmes in Oxford and Cambridge are also among the services being scrapped – merging with the BBC’s Southampton and Norwich operations.The BBC needs to save a further £285 million in response to the announcement in January that the licence fee will be frozen for the next two years.The corporation has delivered over £1 billion of savings in the five years to 2021/22.