Remember the days when the BBC brought us Pebble Mill at lunchtime?

It wasn’t just the name of a television studio. It was also the name of a magazine show which formed an important part of the national broadcaster’s output.

And the role played by Pebble Mill at the heart of the schedules symbolised the role played by Birmingham in the BBC’s operation.

The Pebble Mill studio was a major regional headquarter. It’s fair to say that the West Midlands had its own equivalent of Broadcasting House, the Beeb’s London base.

More recently, the BBC has constructed world-class facilities at the Mailbox and elsewhere, continuing the tradition of Birmingham as a major regional base.

But as we report today, with great sorrow, those days may be coming to an end.

While the BBC’s commitment to Birmingham has looked precarious for some time, what’s really hurt is the decision to shift as much of the broadcaster’s operation as possible to Greater Manchester.

This is designed to end the BBC’s London-centric approach and ensure the regions get a fair shake.

But focusing everything on just one part of the country only looks like a boost for the regions from the perspective of London.

For the broadcasting elite based in the capital, it looks like they are being asked to leave their cosy South-east nest for a new life in “the provinces”.

But from the point of view of the West Midlands, it just looks like we are losing an important public sector industry to Manchester.

If production leaves Birmingham, it really makes no difference to us whether it shifts north or south. It certainly doesn’t look like a victory for the regions.