BBC Spend, Spend, Spends On Infrastructure

The BBC is said to be shrugging off the world recession by spending more than £800 million on new headquarters in central London of glass and Portland stone.
Greg Dyke, the former Director-General who masterminded the deal, has disclosed that the project was so large it forced ministers to give a so-called 'secret assurance' that the corporation's future was secure until at least 2033.
The disclosure has angered politicians who say the assurance - made by Tessa Jowell, the former Culture Secretary - may force any future governments into endorsing the future funding and survival of the BBC.
Philip Davies, a Tory MP and a member of the Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport, said: "We have always worked on the principle in this country that no government can bind a successive one, but that's in effect what Tessa Jowell was doing.
"She was giving an assurance that she was not entitled to make. It's a constitutional outrage," he raged.
According to the Sunday Times he said: "The BBC has forced the government's hand by spending so much money at a time when the future of the licence fee is uncertain."
The former DG had embarked on a massive building programme, commissioning Pacific Quay, the BBC's £190m Scottish headquarters in Glasgow, and new studio complexes in Hull and Birmingham.
However, it is the redevelopment of London's Broadcasting House, which was built in 1932, that really saw a commitment to major investment.
"Broadcasting House is important in terms of the long-term solidarity and security of the BBC for the next 40 years.
"We wanted to make something special, something wonderful that would stand the test of time," Mr Dyke said at the time.
To fund the redevelopment, the BBC decided in 2003 to tap the bond market for the first time.
Although the £813 million, 30-year bond was not guaranteed by the government, the BBC was given a first class credit rating following official backing.
According to Dyke, Jowell's written assurances over the future of the BBC helped secure the deal. "When we were getting the bond we had to get an assurance from the Secretary of State that the BBC will still be around," he said.
However, the redevelopment is already two years behind schedule and £20 million over budget.
Work is now under way on a nine storey high extension that will host BBC News and BBC Global News - including the World Service - alongside the national radio stations.
When completed, the centre will have more than 4,500 staff, 36 radio studios, six TV studios, two control rooms and 60 graphics and editing suites. It will also include the world's largest newsroom, a 43,000 sq ft open-plan office equivalent to half the size of a football pitch.
(BMcC)