BBC to remain at Seymour Road in Plymouth

Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc, the waterfront regeneration and destination specialist, has confirmed that the BBC will not relocate its South West headquarters to Sutton Harbour.

The site at East Quays, which is approximately 1.25 acres, has long been earmarked for a BBC move but as a result of continued delays to the development the Corporation is to remain in its current location and has recently been granted planning permission to refurbish its

Jason Schofield, Chief Executive of Sutton Harbour Holdings Plc, said the decision meant the company was now free to follow up a number of leads from potential users for what is widely regarded as one of the finest development sites in the South West.

He said: “This move was first announced in 2007 but the world is a very different place today and the economic downturn has delayed the scheme originally proposed and pressure on the BBC to initiate an immediate technology replacement programme has ruled out any further delay to its strategy.

“Clearly we would have liked to have added the broadcaster to the growing list of prestigious commercial tenants at Sutton Harbour but we understand the reasons for their decision which has been reached entirely amicably.

“We will now concentrate our efforts on marketing and promoting what is one of the finest waterfront development sites in the South West for residential, office, retail and leisure use, and we already have a number of new lines of interest.”

Mr Schofield said East Quays was the jewel in the crown of 12 underused sites around the Harbour that have been earmarked for a potential 350,000 sq ft of mixed-use development as part of a £75 million masterplan that was unveiled by Sutton Harbour Holdings to wide support in November of last year.