Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Battersea, an inner-city district of South West London. It comprises two individual power stations, built in two stages in the form of a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built in the 1930s, with Battersea B Power Station to its east in the 1950s. The two stations were built to an identical design, providing the well known four-chimney layout. The station ceased generating electricity in 1983, but over the past 50 years it has become one of the best known landmarks in London and is Grade II* listed.[1][2] The stations celebrity owes much to numerous cultural appearances, which include a shot in The Beatles 1965 movie Help!, appearing in the video for the 1982 hit single Youve Got Another Thing Comin by heavy metal band Judas Priest and being used in the cover art of Pink Floyds 1977 album Animals, as well as a cameo appearance in Take Thats music video The Flood. In addition, a photograph of the plants control room was used as cover art on Hawkwinds 1977 album Quark, Strangeness and Charm. The station is the largest brick building in Europe and is notable for its original, lavish Art Deco interior fittings and decor.[3] However, the building has remained largely unused since its closure and the condition of the structure has been described as very bad by English Heritage who included in its Heritage at Risk Register.[4] The site was also listed on the 2004 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund.[5] Since the stations closure numerous redevelopment plans were drawn up from successive site owners. In 2004, when a redevelopment project by Parkview International had stalled, the site was then passed on to the administrators of Irish company Real Estate Opportunities (REO), who bought it for £400 million in November 2006 with plans to refurbish the station for public use and build 3,400 homes across the site.[6][7] However, this plan fell through due to REOs debt being called in by its creditors, the state-owned banks in the UK and Ireland, and the site was subsequently placed on sale on on December 2011 to the open property market through commercial estate agent Knight Frank.[8][9][10] It has received interest from a variety of overseas consortia, most seeking to demolish or part-demolish the structure. The combination of an existing debt burden of some £750 million, the need to make a £200 million contribution to a proposed extension to the London Underground, requirements to fund conservation of the derelict power station shell and the presence of a waste transfer station and cement plant on the river frontage made a commercial development of the site a significant challenge.[11][12] On 7 June 2012, it was officially announced by Knight Frank[13] that administrators Ernst & Young had entered into an exclusivity agreement with Malaysia’s SP Setia and Sime Darby and were working towards a timely exchange and completion of the site and associated land.[14] Completion of the £400 million sale took place in September 2012, and the redevelopment intends to implement the Rafael Vinoly design which had gained planning consent from Wandsworth Council in 2011.[15] In January 2013 the first residential apartments went on sale.[16] Construction on Phase 1 is due to commence in 2013, with completion due in 2016/17.[17]
Posted on: Fri, 07 Nov 2014 01:40:38 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015