The closure comes as a result of Bristol Design not being able to bring in enough work from its main client, the BBC, over the past year or so. 'In the past 18 months, the major [BBC] projects have been lost to other facilities,' said Phil Kelsh, post manager at BBC Post Production.
Bristol Design, which provides a range of services including broadcast design, 3D animation, compositing and print design, as well as commercials work, has also been facing increased competition from rival facilities in Bristol for business from non-BBC clients.
'The feedback from the customer has been that the work has been lost on creative pitches,' said Kelsh. 'There's also been a lot of predatory pricing in the industry, especially from London,' he added.
The department will close its doors in September subject to a compulsory consultation period with the unions - an exact date will be announced shortly. It is hoped that most of the 20 staff at Bristol Design will be found jobs within other areas of the BBC, Kelsh said.
BBC Resources has said that any work now underway at Bristol Design will be completed during this time.
The decision to close Bristol Design comes despite the department winning a string of awards in the past 18 months, including the Jackson Hole international award for best CGI/animation work for Monsters We Met and the best TV campaign award at the National Grand Cream Awards for the Wessex Water commercials.
According to BBC Resources, the decision to close the design division will not affect BBC Post Production which will continue to run its Bristol operations as normal. Similar services to those offered in Bristol will be available on a smaller scale at BBC Post Production's London facility and BBC Broadcast will offer interactive design services in London.
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