BBC North: it's not grim, but it is still 160 miles away from HQ

Stand outside Manchester's Lowry Centre on a sunny morning, looking across the water of Salford Quays, and the new BBC North looks a wonderful place to work. Who wouldn't want to move there from grimy old Shepherd's Bush , especially now the Economist Intelligence Unit rates Manchester and London dead level for liveability? Why on earth are BBC Breakfast presenters, including Sian Williams, right, still cutting up rough? Don't they know how, long ago, Granada TV helped bring great life to Greater Manchester? To this there's a short answer. Granada's HQ was up north. You didn't need to get on a train or plane to see the boss; he was there. Could the BBC executive board relocate to Salford? The BBC Trust? If not, don't be too hard on Sian, Bill and the others, wondering whether the Virgin train bringing their morning's guests will get stuck at Crewe.