He said: "The Roath Basin site represents one of the most significant waterfront opportunities in the UK and our plans include a new digital media centre to accommodate a range of businesses in the sector and support future growth. The scale of the ambitious £10m drama village being built for BBC Wales in Cardiff's docklands is now becoming apparent, as building work accelerates on a … Roath Lock is a television production studio that housed BBC drama productions including Doctor Who (and its spin-off Class).Both Casualty and Pobol y Cwm continue to be filmed here. It is operated by their BBC Birmingham branch and based largely at the Selly Oak campus of the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England. The corporation is also shutting studios in Llandaff, north Cardiff, the headquarters of BBC Wales.BBC Wales also oversees a range of drama projects from independent producers, including Being Human and Merlin, and is a key beneficiary of the decision to boost out of London production by 2016.The drama village is being built on the last strip of dockland waiting to be reclaimed, but is still close to the Welsh assembly building, the Millennium Centre, and the main Cardiff Central railway station.The project also includes a separate digital media centre and 1,000 flats and dovetails with the Welsh government's ambitions to boost the creative industries – even though the reality is that many freelance broadcast production experts are likely at first to commute to Cardiff when working on drama projects.New home to Casualty, Doctor Who and Pobol y Cwm is set to open for production in September 2011BBC drama village in Cardiff Bay - artist's impression.
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The centre topped out on 20 February 2011 and filming for such productions commenced in autumn of the same year.. It will also have a gothic-style entrance inspired by some of The 16,300 square metres (175,000 sq ft) of studios were constructed and fitted out within 13 months, marking the quickest BBC build of its size ever.A £2.5m bridge linking the drama village to Cardiff Bay was lifted into place. The scale of the ambitious £10m drama village being built for BBC Wales in Cardiff's docklands is now becoming apparent, as building work accelerates on a … "Cardiff is already home to Doctor Who and Torchwood with Casualty to follow and I know the drama village is seen by the BBC as part of its ongoing plans for increasing its production and development presence in Cardiff which can only be a massive boost for the city. Keith Jones, director of BBC Wales, said: "This innovative bridge will be a gateway for the creative industries in Wales, bringing world-class productions to the heart of Cardiff and taking Welsh-made content to the UK and beyond. BBC Wales drama village name unveiled as Roath Lock Work starts on BBC Wales drama village in Cardiff Bay
It is operated by their BBC Birmingham branch and based largely at the Selly Oak campus of the University of Birmingham in Birmingham, England. "It's a real marker, a long-term project that will give people the confidence to base themselves here," added Gareth Powell, chief operating officer for BBC Wales.The BBC is paying for the technical fitting out of the studios, which are to high definition standards, and last month appointed a director to run the centre.Casualty, which is moving from Bristol, will lead the way with production starting in September 2011, for the first Cardiff generated episode to be broadcast in January 2012. It consists of approximately 27 acres and has an outline planning permission for 1,000 new homes and 100,000 sq m of commercial floor space. "Cardiff council leader Rodney Berman said: "It's fantastic to see work commencing on the new BBC drama village here in Cardiff that, when complete, will position the capital at the forefront of the creative industries. It will then pay an annual rent, starting at £1.35m annually, under a 20-year lease.The development is being undertaken by Igloo Regeneration, backed by the Aviva investment group, on behalf of the Welsh assembly government, which owns the land and paid £8.5m for a new access road and bridge.Compared to the estimated £150m costs of the BBC relocation to Salford, the outlay of this venture for the is modest, because of the Welsh assembly's investment in what is seen as a regeneration and job creation project.The BBC's drama village will be a stunning 180,000 sq ft building, stretching along the wide Roath basin – a vast pool of water – and will contain nine studios, capable of housing a wide range of drama sets and post production facilities. The bridge is the latest stage in the development of BBC Wales' new drama village BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC, and the national broadcaster for Wales. BBC News - Inside BBC Wales drama village The first phase of work on BBC Wales' new drama production village in Cardiff Bay is complete.