Plans to restore Alexandra Palace in north London have been granted planning consent by Haringey Council. The project now rests on a proposed £16million Heritage Lottery Fund grant, which is expected to be given in March, plus official approval from the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in view of the Palace’s Grade II-listed status. The proposed restoration can then begin.

Alexandra Palace will undergo a comprehensive renovation. A hidden theatre on site, dating back to 1875, will be fully restored allowing for commercial use hosting cinema screenings, performances and accommodating up to 1,300 people. The development could also include a hotel on the existing Panorama Room site at the south west end of the building which has panoramic views over London. However, this is not new.  Plans for a hotel were first mooted back in the 1980s.

A new interactive visitor centre/museum is planned charting the birth and development of broadcast television. The BBC’s original studios once occupied the site and the first public television transmissions were made from Alexandra Palace.

Duncan Wilson, chief executive of Alexandra Palace, said: “We are delighted with the planning committee’s decision, which allows us to move forward with the project and is a major step in the transformation of Alexandra Palace to realise its full potential as the 'People’s Palace' once again.”