Pebble Mill Studios

Pebble Mill Studios was a television studio complex owned by the BBC located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. The nine acre site was opened by Princess Anne on 10 November 1971, and in addition to the studios contained two canteens, a post office, gardens, a seven-storey office block, and an Outside Broadcasting (OB) base.As well as being the home of Midlands Today and BBC Radio WM, programmes produced at Pebble Mill included Pebble Mill at One, The Archers, Top Gear, Doctors and Gardeners' World.Pebble Mill Studios closed in 2004 and was demolished in 2005.Early historyIn the 1950s BBC Midlands was based in offices on Carpenter Road, Edgbaston. The news studio was in a separate building in Broad Street which remained in operation until 1971. In the same complex, the studios also recorded drama productions in the former Delicia Cinema in Gosta Green. Over time, these studios were too small for the expanding region and were hampered by being spread out across Birmingham.A change in BBC policy created the BBC Regions, based in Manchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow and Belfast. These locations were created as 'National Production Centres', to produce television and radio productions for the areas in which they covered. Pebble Mill was designed to be an addition to London's Wood Lane Television Centre (TVC or TC).