Alexandra Palace TV Heritage Faces Destruction 

9 July 2006 tbs.pm/254

Many thanks to Malcolm Smith for bringing this to our attention.

Alexandra Palace Television Group

Chairman: Richard E Norman CBE; Treasurer: Tony Wilding; Secretary: Frank Phillip

****URGENT PRESS RELEASE****

Alexandra Palace TV Heritage Faces Destruction

John Thompson, curator of the Alexandra Palace Television Group?s museum*, believes the single most important place in world TV history may be destroyed by the Alexandra Palace Trustees? actions.

For many years Alexandra Palace has been presenting a financial burden to its Trustees, which are comprised exclusively of councillors from the London Borough of Haringey.

The Trustees made a decision several years ago to seek permission from the Charity Commission to issue a lease on the whole of the Palace, including the Television wing, to a third party developer.

In 2001, the Charity Commission promoted a Parliamentary scheme to provide the Trustees with the power to lease the Palace for up to 125 years. The scheme was approved and since then the Trustees have invited bids from prospective lessees.

In November 2005, a shortlist of three was selected:

Business Design Centre

Earl?s Court & Olympia Group

Firoka (Heythrop Park)

Earlier this year, Firoka?s bid was selected as the preferred developer. The lease is now under final negotiation by the parties concerned, and is due for completion and signing at the end of July 2006.

A period of one month for representations by interested parties was required under the Charities Act, Section 36/6. The Alexandra Palace Television Group, along with others, submitted its representation, including a petition with around 1,600 signatures.

The petition read as follows: ?We are concerned that any alterations may be detrimental to the building and its broadcasting history, which would mean the loss of the single most important site in the world marking the beginning of the first high definition public television service.

?If any scheme is put in place, we consider it vital that the historic areas of the Palace must be preserved.?

The Group submitted its representation to Alexandra Palace?s general manager, Keith Holder. Thompson was surprised and frustrated when Holder advised him that the representation would not be submitted to the Trustees in full, as he would summarise the petition.

Holder suggested that there might have been data protection issues with regard to submitting the names and addresses of petitioners to the Trustees. Thompson finds this absurd, as petitioners signed expressly for that purpose.

Thompson believes this weakened the representation, because none of the numerous comments within the petition were reported to the Trustees.

Holder selected one sheet from the petition as an example of its contents, but not a full summary of the comments.

At an Alexandra Palace consultative committee meeting in late June, Thompson raised the issue of inappropriate analysis by Holder. At the meeting, two of the Trustees, Cllr Sheila Rainger and Cllr Robert Hare, requested sight of the full petition from Thompson, which he provided.

?So far, there appears to be no protection of this historically important site within the lease,? Thompson argues.

?The management and Trustees appear to have a single-minded objective to offload their responsibility for the Palace, with no regard to its world heritage. There have been no reassurances whatsoever from the Trustees or management team, that there will be some form of protection.?

Firoka?s initial proposal indicated that museum space might be available elsewhere within the Palace. Thompson believes this highlights the complete lack of understanding of the significance of this historic space.

?After all, this is where it actually happened in 1936. The pioneers like Baird, EMI and the BBC all contributed to the birth of high definition television at Alexandra Palace,? concludes Thompson.

Since the consultative committee?s meeting Thompson has made the petition available to any Trustee of Alexandra Palace who would like sight of it.

Readers who would like to make their views known to the Trustees should write to:

Cllr Charles Adje

Chairman

Alexandra Palace and Park Board

River Park House

225 High Road

Wood Green

London

N22 8HQ

Press Release issued 01 July 2006 by John Thompson : Curator, Alexandra Palace Television Group.

End of Press Release

* (see line 1 of press release) The APTG Museum is presently housed in Studio A.