Battersea Power Station#2012 redevelopment plans
{{For|the Underground station|Battersea Power Station tube station}}
{{Short description|Decommissioned coal-fired power station}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox power station
| name = Battersea Power Station
| image = Battersea Power Station from the river.jpg
| image_caption = Battersea Power Station
Viewed from the north bank of the Thames in August 2012
| coordinates = {{coord|51|28|54|N|0|8|41|W|type:landmark_scale:5000_region:GB|display=inline,title}}
| name_official = Battersea A and B power stations
| country = England
| location = Nine Elms, Battersea
| status = Decommissioned and redeveloped
| construction_began = 1929 (A station)
1945 (B station)
| commissioned = 1933–35 (A station)
1953–55 (B station)
| decommissioned = 1975 (A station)
1983 (B station)
| cost = £2,141,550 (A station)
| owner = London Power Company
(1939–1948)
British Electricity Authority
(1948–1955)
Central Electricity Authority
(1955–1957)
Central Electricity Generating Board
(1957–1983)
| operator =
| th_fuel_primary = Coal
| th_fuel_secondary = Oil (A station only)
| th_fuel_tertiary =
| ps_units_operational = A station:
Two 69 MW Metropolitan-Vickers (MV) British Thomson-Houston and one 105 MW Metropolitan-Vickers
B station:Two 100 MW and one 72 MW Metropolitan-Vickers
| ps_electrical_capacity = 1935: 243 MW
1955: 503 MW
1975: 488 MW
1983: 146 MW
| ps_electrical_cap_fac =
| website = {{URL|https://batterseapowerstation.co.uk}}
| extra = {{Designation list|embed = yes|designation1 = Grade II* Listed Building|designation1_offname = Battersea Power Station|designation1_type = |designation1_criteria = |designation1_date = 14 October 1980
|delisted1_date = |designation1_partof = |designation1_number = {{NHLE|num=1357620|short=yes}}}}
}}
Battersea Power Station is a decommissioned coal-fired power station located on the south bank of the River Thames in Nine Elms, Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It was built by the London Power Company (LPC) to the design of Leonard Pearce, Engineer in Chief to the LPC, and CS Allott & Son Engineers. The architects were J. Theo Halliday and Giles Gilbert Scott. The station is one of the world's largest brick buildings and notable for its original, Art Deco interior fittings and decor.
The building comprises two power stations, built in two stages, in a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built between 1929 and 1935 and Battersea B Power Station, to its east, between 1937 and 1941, when construction was paused owing to the worsening effects of the Second World War. The building was completed in 1955. "Battersea B" was built to a design nearly identical to that of "Battersea A", creating the iconic four-chimney structure.
"Battersea A" was decommissioned in 1975. In 1980 the whole structure was given Grade II listed status; "Battersea B" shut three years later. In 2007 its listed status was upgraded to Grade II*. The building remained empty until 2014, during which time it fell into near ruin. Various plans were made to make use of the building, but none were successful.
In 2012, administrators Ernst & Young entered into an agreement with Malaysia's S P Setia and Sime Darby to develop the site to include residential, bars, restaurants, office space (occupied by Apple and others), shops and entertainment spaces. The plans were approved and redevelopment commenced a few years later. The main Power Station building was opened to the public in October 2022.
As of 2023, the building and the overall {{convert|42|acre|ha|adj=on}} site development is owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors.
The station is also notable for its appearance on the cover of rock band Pink Floyd's tenth studio album Animals (1977).
History
Located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Nine Elms, Battersea, an inner-city district of South West London, the building comprises two power stations, built in two stages in a single building. Battersea A Power Station was built in the 1930s and Battersea B Power Station, to its east, in the 1950s. They were built to a near-identical design, providing the four-chimney structure.
The power station was decommissioned between 1975 and 1983 and remained empty until 2014. It was designated as a Grade II listed building in 1980. In 2007 its listed status was upgraded to Grade II*.[https://paye.net/projects/battersea-power-station/ "BATTERSEA POWER STATION"]{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, PAYE Stonework and Restoration, accessed 30 December 2018.{{NHLE|num=1357620|desc=Battersea Power Station|access-date=10 December 2011}}
The station is one of the world's largest brick buildings,{{cite book|title=Thames: The Biography|last1=Ackroyd|first1=Peter|publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group|year=2008|page=216|quote=The docks of the Thames were by far the largest in the world, now Battersea Power Station is one of the largest brick structures.|author-link=Peter Ackroyd}} and notable for its original, lavish Art Deco interior fittings and decor.{{cite web|url=http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist1.html|title=History of the Construction|work=Battersea Power Station Community Group|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090120005944/http://batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist1.html|archive-date=20 January 2009|url-status=live|access-date=3 February 2009}} The structure remained largely unused for more than 30{{nbsp}}years after its closure; in 2008 its condition was described as "very bad" by English Heritage, which included it in its Heritage at Risk Register.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2008/jun/20/art.architecture|title=Latest plans for Battersea power station revealed|last=Booth|first=Robert|date=20 June 2008|access-date=11 March 2009|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London}} The site was also listed on the 2004 World Monuments Watch by the World Monuments Fund.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wmf.org/project/battersea-power-station|title=Battersea Power Station|website=World Monuments Fund}}
Since the station's closure, redevelopment plans have been drawn up by successive site owners. In 2004, when a redevelopment project by Parkview International stalled, the site was sold to the administrators of Irish company Real Estate Opportunities (REO), who bought it for £400{{nbsp}}million in November 2006 with plans to refurbish the station for public use and build 3,400 homes on the site.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6160773.stm|title=Iconic landmark is sold for £400m|date=30 November 2006|access-date=30 November 2006|work=BBC News}}{{cite web|url=http://www.propertyweek.com/news/news-by-region/london/reos-battersea-power-station-granted-consent-by-wandsworth/5008973.article|title=REO's Battersea Power Station granted consent by Wandsworth|last=Hatcher|first=David|date=12 November 2010|work=www.propertyweek.com|access-date=28 January 2011}} This plan fell through due to REO's debt being called in by the state-owned banks of the UK and Ireland. The site was again put up for sale in December 2011 through commercial estate agent Knight Frank.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17159188|title=Battersea Power Station in London on sale|date=24 February 2012|work=BBC News}}{{cite web|url=http://search.knightfrank.com/gb0412|title=| Knight Frank|publisher=Search.knightfrank.com|access-date=27 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121123054247/http://search.knightfrank.com/GB0412|archive-date=23 November 2012|url-status=dead}}[http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ba01cc9e-1b7b-11e1-8b11-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz12oBp1F2v] FT.com 1 December 2011 The combination of an existing debt burden of £750{{nbsp}}million, the need to make a £200{{nbsp}}million contribution to an 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 commercial development of the site a significant challenge.{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.ie/business/european/reo-searching-for-partner-in-battersea-power-station-revamp-1876685.html|title=REO searching for partner in Battersea power station revamp|last=Molloy|first=Thomas|date=3 September 2009|work=Irish Independent}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8712155/REO-seeks-to-sell-50pc-stake-in-Battersea-Power-Station.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/8712155/REO-seeks-to-sell-50pc-stake-in-Battersea-Power-Station.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=REO seeks to sell 50pc stake in Battersea Power Station|last=Ruddick|first=Graham|date=20 August 2011|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London}}{{cbignore}}
Until the late 1930s, electricity was supplied by municipal undertakings. These were small power companies that built power stations dedicated to a single industry or group of factories, and sold any excess electricity to the public. These companies used widely differing standards of voltage and frequency. In 1925 Parliament decided that the power grid should be a single system with uniform standards and under public ownership. Several of the private power companies reacted to the proposal by forming the London Power Company (LPC). They planned to heed parliament's recommendations and build a small number of very large stations.{{cite web
| url = http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist1.html
| title = History of the Construction
| access-date = 3 February 2009
| work = Battersea Power Station Community Group
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090120005944/http://batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist1.html| archive-date= 20 January 2009 | url-status= live}}
The London Power Company's first of these super power stations was planned for the Battersea area, on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The proposal was made in 1927, for a station built in two stages and capable of generating 400{{nbsp}}megawatts (MW) of electricity when complete. The site chosen was a {{convert|15|acre|m2|adj=on}} plot of land which had been the site of the reservoirs for the former Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company.{{cite web
|url=http://www.southchelsea.freeserve.co.uk/page5.html
|title=Battersea Power Station
|access-date=8 March 2009
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310153147/http://www.southchelsea.freeserve.co.uk/page5.html
|archive-date=10 March 2012
}} The site was chosen for its proximity to the River Thames for cooling water and coal delivery, and because it was in the heart of London, the station's immediate supply area.
The proposal sparked protests from those who felt that the building would be too large and would be an eyesore, as well as worries about the pollution damaging local buildings, parks and even paintings in the nearby Tate Gallery. The company addressed the former concern by hiring Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to design the building's exterior. He was a distinguished architect and industrial designer, famous for his designs for the red telephone box and Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. He subsequently designed another London power station, Bankside, which now houses Tate Modern art gallery. The pollution issue was resolved by granting permission for the station on the condition that its emissions were to be treated, to ensure they were "clean and smokeless".
Construction of the first phase (the A Station) began in March 1929. The main building work was carried out by John Mowlem & Co,Mowlem 1822–1972, p.6 and the structural steelwork erection carried out by Sir William Arrol & Co. Other contractors were employed for specialist tasks. Most of the electrical equipment, including the steam turbine turbo generators, was produced by Metropolitan-Vickers in Trafford Park, Manchester. The building of the steel frame began in October 1930. Once completed, the construction of the brick cladding began, in March 1931. Until the construction of the B Station, the eastern wall of the boiler house was clad in corrugated metal sheeting as a temporary enclosure. The A Station first generated electricity in 1933, but was not completed until 1935.{{cite web
| url = http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/faqs/faqs.html
| title = Frequently Asked Questions
| access-date = 9 March 2009
| date = 11 May 2000
| work = Battersea Power Station Community Group
}} The total cost of its construction was £2,141,550. Between construction beginning in 1929 and 1933, there were six fatal and 201 non-fatal accidents on the site.{{cite web
| first = J.
| last = Gilmour
| title = BATTERSEA POWER STATION (ACCIDENTS)
| url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1933/may/01/battersea-power-station-accidents#S5CV0277P0_19330501_HOC_199
| work = Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
| date = 1 May 1933
| access-date = 2 September 2009
}}
After the end of the Second World War, construction began on the second phase, the B Station. The station came into operation gradually between 1953 and 1955. It was nearly identical to the A Station from the outside and was constructed directly to its east as a mirror to it, which gave the power station its now familiar four-chimney layout. The construction of the B Station brought the site's generating capacity up to 509{{nbsp}}MW, making it the third largest generating site in the UK at the time, providing a fifth of London's electricity needs (with the remainder supplied by 28 smaller stations).[http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20131106-the-power-and-the-glory Battersea Power Station: Electrifying design], BBC, Design Icons, 7 November 2013 It was also the most thermally efficient power station in the world when it opened.
The A Station had been operated by the London Power Company, but by the time the B Station was completed, the UK's electric supply industry had been nationalised, and ownership of the two stations had passed into the hands of the British Electricity Authority in 1948.
On 20 April 1964, a fire at the power station caused power failures throughout London, including at the BBC Television Centre, which was due to launch BBC2 that night; the launch was delayed until the following morning.{{cite web
|url=http://www.tvhistory.btinternet.co.uk/html/bbc2_opening.html
|title=BBC2 opening night
|access-date=11 March 2009
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010144949/http://www.tvhistory.btinternet.co.uk/html/bbc2_opening.html
|archive-date=10 October 2012
}}
Design and specification
File:Battersea Power Station, 1934 with only two chimneys (Our Generation, 1938).jpg
File:Battersea power station 1950.jpg
File:Battersea Power Station in London.jpg
Both of the stations were designed by a team of architects and engineers. The team was headed by Leonard Pearce, the chief engineer of the London Power Company, but a number of other notable engineers were also involved, including Henry Newmarch Allott, and T. P. O'Sullivan who was later responsible for the Assembly Hall at Filton. J. Theo Halliday was employed as architect, with Halliday & Agate employed as a sub-consultant. Halliday was responsible for the supervision and execution of the appearance of the exterior and interior of the building. Architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott was involved in the project much later on, consulted to appease public reaction, and referred to in the press as "architect of the exterior". The station was designed in the brick-cathedral style of power station design, which was popular at the time.{{cite web
| url = http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/upload/pdf/Utilities_and_Communications.pdf
| title = Utilities and communications buildings selection guide
| access-date = 7 September 2008
| author = Heritage Protection Department
| date = March 2007
| publisher = English Heritage
| page = 10
}} Battersea is one of a very small number of examples of this style of power station design still in existence in the UK, others being Uskmouth and Bankside.{{cite web
| url = http://www.mybrightonandhove.org.uk/page.aspx?id=6489
| title = Shoreham power station
| access-date = 8 March 2009
| author = CBLex
| date = 15 February 2008
| format = ASPX
}} The station's design proved popular straightaway, and was described as a "temple of power", which ranked equal with St Paul's Cathedral as a London landmark. In a 1939 survey by The Architectural Review, a panel of celebrities ranked it as their second favourite modern building."Our Best Buildings: A Poll of Laymen", The Manchester Guardian, 9 June 1939, p. 12
The A station's control room was given many Art Deco fittings by architect Halliday. Italian marble was used in the turbine hall, and polished parquet floors and wrought-iron staircases were used throughout. Owing to a lack of available money following the Second World War, the interior of the B Station was not given the same treatment, and instead the fittings were made from stainless steel.{{cite web
| url = http://www.golm.org.uk/documents/BatterseaPowerStationFamTripNovember2008.pdf
| title = Battersea Power Station – Fam Trip 2 November 2008
| access-date = 10 March 2009
| author = Rebecca Beveridge
| date = 2 November 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090319094633/http://www.golm.org.uk/documents/BatterseaPowerStationFamTripNovember2008.pdf| archive-date= 19 March 2009 | url-status= live}}
Each of the two connected stations consists of a long boiler house with a chimney at each end and an adjacent turbine hall. This makes a single main building which is of steel frame construction with brick cladding, similar to the skyscrapers built in the United States around the same time. The station is the largest brick structure in Europe. The building's gross dimensions measure {{cvt|160|m}} by {{cvt|170|m}}, with the roof of the boiler house standing at over {{cvt|50|m}}. Each of the four chimneys is made from concrete and stands {{cvt|103|m}} tall with a base diameter of {{cvt|8.5|m}} tapering to {{cvt|6.7|m}} at the top. The station also had jetty facilities for unloading coal, a coal sorting and storage area, control rooms and an administration block.{{cite web
|url=http://www.southchelsea.freeserve.co.uk/page11.html
|title=Putting Battersea on the map
|access-date=8 March 2009
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120310153152/http://www.southchelsea.freeserve.co.uk/page11.html
|archive-date=10 March 2012
}}
The A Station generated electricity using three turbo alternators; two 69{{nbsp}}MW Metropolitan-Vickers British Thomson-Houston sets, and one 105 MW Metropolitan-Vickers set, totalling 243 MW. At the time of its commissioning, the 105 MW generating set was the largest in Europe.{{cite web
| url = http://www.scienceandsociety.co.uk/results.asp?image=10250275&wwwflag=3&imagepos=57
| title = Turbine, Battersea Power Station, 31 January 1935
| work = Science and Society Picture Library
| format = ASP
| access-date = 25 January 2011
}} The B Station also had three turbo alternators, all made by Metropolitan-Vickers. This consisted of two units which used 16 MW high-pressure units exhausting to a 78 MW and associated with a 6 MW house alternator, giving these units a total rating of 100 MW. The third unit consisted of a 66 MW machine associated with a 6 MW house alternator, giving the unit a rating of 72 MW. Combined, these gave the B station a generating capacity of 260 MW, making the site's generating capacity 503 MW. All of the station's boilers were made by Babcock & Wilcox, fuelled by pulverised coal from pulverisers also built by Babcock & Wilcox. There were nine boilers in the A station and six in the B station. The B station's boilers were the largest ever built in the UK at that time. The B station also had the highest thermal efficiency of any power station in the country for the first 12{{nbsp}}years of its operation.{{cite web|url=http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/apply/doc/Additional%20Information-2057778.pdf;jsessionid=917186B9B2E2D0A2E20BCAEA5E26FDAE?extension=.pdf&wmTransparency=0&id=2057778&wmLocation=0&location=VOLUME8&contentType=application%2Fpdf&wmName=+&pageCount=1 |title=Battersea Power Station and Site: Historic Buildings Architect's report for REO (PowerStation) Ltd |date=July 2009 |work=Wandsworth Council |format=PDF |access-date=14 August 2010 }}{{dead link|date=June 2016|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
Operations
= Coal transportation =
File:Battersea Power Station in London 3.jpgs, and unloaded by cranes. These two cranes, pictured in 2008, were removed in 2014.]]
The power station consumed over 1,000,000{{nbsp}}tonnes of coal annually, mostly from pits in South Wales and North East England, delivered by coastal colliers. These were "flat-irons"{{cite web |url=http://www.burntisland.net/ships-list-anderson.htm |title=Ships built by the Burntisland Shipbuilding Company Ltd: arranged by date of launch|editor-last=Sommerville |editor-first=Iain |year=2008 |work=Welcome to Burntisland |publisher=Iain Sommerville |access-date=15 June 2011| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110716235447/http://www.burntisland.net/ships-list-anderson.htm| archive-date= 16 July 2011 | url-status= live}} with a low-profile superstructure and fold-down funnels and masts to fit under the River Thames's bridges above the Pool of London. The LPC and its nationalised successors owned and operated several "flat-irons" for this service.
Coal was usually delivered to the jetty where two cranes, capable of unloading two ships at a time at a rate of 480{{nbsp}}tonnes an hour, offloaded coal. Some coal was delivered by rail to the east of the station from the Brighton Main Line which passes nearby. A conveyor belt system moved the coal to a storage area or directly to the station's boiler rooms. The conveyor belt system consisted of a series of bridges connected by towers. The storage area was a large concrete box capable of holding 75,000{{nbsp}}tonnes of coal. It had an overhead gantry and a conveyor belt attached to the conveyor belt system for moving coal to the boiler rooms.
= Water system =
Water, essential to a thermal power station, is used to condense steam from the steam turbines before it is returned to the boiler. Water cycled through the power station's systems was taken from the Thames. The station could extract an average of 1.5{{nbsp}}million cubic metres (340{{nbsp}}million imperial gallons) of water from the river each day.
After the end of World War II, the London Power Company used the waste heat to supply the Pimlico District Heating Undertaking.
= Scrubbers =
The reduction of sulphur emissions was an important factor from when the station was in the design stages, as it was one of the main concerns of the protesters. The London Power Company developed an experimental technique for washing flue gases in 1925. It used water and alkaline sprays over scrubbers of steel and timber in flue ducts. The gases were subject to continuous washing; as to the principal acid pollutant by using the catalyst iron oxide, the sulphur dioxide was converted into sulphuric acid. The plant was one of the world's first commercial applications of this technique. This process was stopped in the B Station in the 1960s, when it was discovered that the discharge of these products into the Thames was more harmful than sulphur dioxide would be to the atmosphere.
= Electricity output =
Electricity output from Battersea A & B power stations over the period 1964–83 was as follows.CEGB Statistical Yearbook (various dates). CEGB, London.{{Cite journal|title=British Power Stations operating at 31 December 1961|journal=Electrical Review|volume=1 June 1962|pages=931}}
Battersea A annual electricity output GWh.
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}Battersea B annual electricity output GWh.
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"y": 969
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"y": 1061
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"y": 1082
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"y": 1062
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"y": 907
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"x": 1973,
"y": 670
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{
"x": 1974,
"y": 485
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"y": 612
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{
"x": 1976,
"y": 511
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{
"x": 1977,
"y": 347
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{
"x": 1978,
"y": 434
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{
"x": 1979,
"y": 193
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{
"x": 1980,
"y": 279
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{
"x": 1981,
"y": 150
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{
"x": 1982,
"y": 97
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{
"x": 1983,
"y": 32
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"y": 0
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"y": 830
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Closure and redevelopment
= Closure =
File:Battersea Power Station - geograph.org.uk - 794104.jpg
The station's demise was caused by its output falling with age, coupled with increased operating costs, such as flue gas cleaning. On 17 March 1975, the A Station was closed after being in operation for 40 years.{{cite web
| author = Mr. Redmond
| title = Coal-fired Power Stations
| url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1984/jan/16/coal-fired-power-stations#S6CV0052P0_19840116_CWA_281
| work = Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)
| date = 16 January 1984
| access-date = 1 September 2009
}} By this time the A Station was co-firing oil and its generating capacity had declined to 228 MW.
Three years after the closure of the A Station, rumours began to circulate that the B Station would soon follow. A campaign was then launched to try to save the building as part of the national heritage. As a result, the station was declared a heritage site in 1980, when the Secretary of State for the Environment, Michael Heseltine, awarded the building Grade II listed status.{{cite web
| url = http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist2.html
| title = Heritage Building
| access-date = 3 February 2009
| work = Battersea Power Station Community Group
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090120015838/http://batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist2.html| archive-date= 20 January 2009 | url-status= live}} (This was upgraded to Grade II* listed in 2007.){{cite web|url=http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=426&storycode=3096757|title=Battersea Power Station upgraded to grade II*|author=Rory Olcayto|date=5 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071015231405/http://bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=426&storycode=3096757|archive-date=15 October 2007|url-status=live|access-date=10 October 2007}} On 31 October 1983 production of electricity at Station B also ended, after nearly 30 years of operation.{{cite web
| url = http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist3.html
| title = Competition
| access-date = 3 February 2009
| work = Battersea Power Station Community Group
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090120005949/http://batterseapowerstation.org.uk/hist3.html| archive-date= 20 January 2009 | url-status= live}} By then the B Station's generating capacity had fallen to 146 MW. The closure of the two stations was put down largely to the generating equipment becoming outdated, and the preferred choice of fuel for electricity generation shifting from coal toward oil, gas and nuclear power.
= Theme park proposal =
File:Inside Battersea Power Station.jpg
Following the station's closure, the Central Electricity Generating Board had planned to demolish the station and sell the land for housing, but because of the building's then Grade II listed status, they had to pay the high cost of preserving the building. In 1983 they held a competition for ideas on the redevelopment of the site. It was won by a consortium led by developer David Roche{{Cite book|title=Up in Smoke: The Failed Dreams of Battersea Power Station|last=Watts|first=Peter|publisher=Paradise Road|year=2016|isbn=978-0-9935702-0-9|pages=192}} and which included John Broome, owner of Alton Towers Ltd. This consortium proposed an indoor theme park, with shops and restaurants. At an estimated cost of £35 million, the scheme was risky and would require over 2 million visitors a year to make any profit. The scheme received planning approval in May 1986 and the site was purchased by John Broome for £1.5 million in 1987. Work on converting the site began the same year. British Rail planned to procure three electric multiple unit trains, designated "Class 447", to run a shuttle service from London Victoria station to the theme park.
The project was halted in March 1989, for lack of funding, after costs had quickly escalated that January, from £35 million to £230 million. By this point huge sections of the building's roof had been removed, so that machinery could be taken out. Without a roof, the building's steel framework had been left exposed and its foundations were prone to flooding.
In March 1990, the proposal was changed to a mixture of offices, shops and a hotel. This proposal was granted planning permission in August 1990, despite opposition from 14 independent organisations, including English Heritage. Despite permission being granted, no further work took place on the site between 1990 and 1993.
= Parkview proposal =
In 1993, the site and its outstanding debt of £70 million were bought from the Bank of America by Hong Kong-based development company, Parkview International, for £10 million.{{cite web
| url = http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/intro.html
| title = Brief history and introduction
| access-date = 10 March 2009
| work = Battersea Power Station Community Group
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090225005242/http://batterseapowerstation.org.uk/intro.html| archive-date= 25 February 2009 | url-status= live}} Following resolution of creditors' claims, it acquired the freehold title in May 1996. In November 1996 plans for the redevelopment of the site were submitted and outline consent was received in May 1997. Detailed consent for much of the site was granted in August 2000, and the rest in May 2001.{{cite web
| url = http://www.industcards.com/pp-conversions.htm
| title = Power Plant Conversions, Museums & Historical Sites
| access-date = 10 March 2009
| date = 12 July 2003
| url-status = usurped
| archive-url = http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090718050349/http://www.industcards.com/pp%2Dconversions.htm |archive-date = 18 July 2009}} The company received full possession of the site in 2003. Having purchased the site, Parkview started work on a £1.1 billion project to restore the building and to redevelop the site into a retail, housing and leisure complex.{{cite news
| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/2791940/Battersea-Power-Station-A-timeline.html
| title = Battersea Power Station: A timeline
| access-date = 15 March 2009
| last = Lowe
| first = Felix
| date = 20 June 2008
| newspaper = The Daily Telegraph
| location = London
}}
During the Parkview era several masterplans for the site were developed by various architects and subsequently discarded. One notable plan, called simply "The Power Station", was masterminded by architect Nicholas Grimshaw. The scheme proposed a shopping mall, with 40 to 50 restaurants, cafés and bars, 180 shops, as well as nightclubs, comedy venues and a cinema. Cosmopolitan shops would have been sited in the A Station's turbine hall, and label name shops in the B Station's turbine hall. The boiler house would have been glazed over and used as a public space for installations and exhibitions. A riverside walkway would also be created, running continuously along the riverside from Vauxhall to Battersea Park.{{cite web
|url = http://www.timeout.com/london/features/2001/2.html
|title = Battersea Power Station
|access-date = 15 March 2009
|author = Jessica Cargill Thompson
|date = 19 September 2006
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121016210632/http://www.timeout.com/london/features/2001/2.html
|archive-date = 16 October 2012
|url-status = dead
}}
Parkview claimed that 3,000 jobs would be created during the construction of the project, and 9,000 would be employed once completed, with an emphasis on local recruitment. The Battersea Power Station Community Group campaigned against the Parkview plan and argued for an alternative community-based scheme to be drawn up. The group described the plans as "a deeply unattractive project that has no affordable housing anywhere on the {{convert|38|acre|m2|adj=on}} site, no decent jobs for local people and no credible public transport strategy".{{cite web
| title = Battersea Power Station Community Group
| url = http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/
| access-date = 3 August 2008
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080808135340/http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/| archive-date= 8 August 2008 | url-status= live}} They also criticised the appropriateness of the project for its location, and the proposal of other large buildings on the site. Keith Garner of the group said "I feel that there's a real problem of appropriateness. They need a completely different kind of scheme, not this airport-lounge treatment. What you see now is a majestic building looming up from the river. If you surround it with buildings 15 storeys high, you don't have a landmark any more."
In 2005 Parkview, English Heritage and the London Borough of Wandsworth said that the reinforcement inside the chimneys was corroded and irreparable. Wandsworth Council granted permission for them to be demolished and rebuilt. However, the Twentieth Century Society, the World Monuments Fund and the Battersea Power Station Company commissioned an alternative engineers' report that concluded that the existing chimneys could be repaired.{{cite web
|url=http://www.riskybuildings.org.uk/docs/13battersea/index.html
|title=Risky Buildings
|access-date=10 March 2009
|author=Tom Houston
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828133155/http://www.riskybuildings.org.uk/docs/13battersea/index.html
|archive-date=28 August 2008
}} In response, Parkview said that they had provided a legally binding undertaking to the council to provide certainty that the chimneys would be replaced "like for like", in accordance with the requirements of English Heritage and the planning authorities.{{cite news
| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4689219.stm
| title = Fears over power station chimneys
| access-date = 10 March 2009
| date = 16 July 2005
| work = BBC News
}}
= REO proposal =
File:Battersea Power Station - geograph.org.uk - 829933.jpg
In November 2006, it was announced that Real Estate Opportunities, led by Irish businessmen Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan of Treasury Holdings, had purchased Battersea Power Station and the surrounding land for €532{{nbsp}}million (£400{{nbsp}}million).{{cite news
| title = REO buys London's Battersea power station
| url = http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/1130/reo-business.html
| access-date = 3 August 2008
| work = RTÉ News
| date = 30 November 2006
}} REO subsequently announced that the previous plan by Parkview had been dropped and that it had appointed the practice of the Uruguayan-born architect Rafael Viñoly of New York as the new master planner for the site. The centrepiece of this masterplan was a 980-foot-high "eco tower" that dwarfed the power station and was described by London's then mayor Boris Johnson as an "inverted toilet-roll holder". The tower was quickly dropped from the scheme. Jersey law firms, Ogier, Carey Olsen and Mourant Oxannes helped REO to raise funds for the new Battersea Power Station redevelopment.{{cite web |url=http://news.searchofficespace.com/sos-news/law-firms-help-finance-battersea-power-station-development.html |title=Law firms help finance Battersea Power Station development |publisher=News.searchofficespace.com |date=26 May 2011 |access-date=27 March 2013 |archive-date=23 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110823054556/http://news.searchofficespace.com/sos-news/law-firms-help-finance-battersea-power-station-development.html |url-status=dead }}
The plans included reusing part of the station building as a power station, fuelled by biomass and waste. The station's existing chimneys would be utilised for venting steam. The former turbine halls would be converted to shopping spaces, and the roofless boiler house used as a park. An energy museum would also be housed inside the former station building. The restoration of the power station building would cost £150{{nbsp}}million.
A plastic built "eco-dome" was to be built to the east of the power station. This building was originally planned to have a large {{cvt|300|m}} chimney, but this has now been abandoned in favour of a series of smaller towers. The eco-dome would house offices, and aim to reduce energy consumption in the buildings by 67% compared to conventional office buildings, by using the towers to draw cool air through the building. 3,200 new homes would also be built on the site to house 7,000 people.
In June 2008 a consultation process was launched, which revealed that 66% of the general public were in favour of the plans. At an event at the station on 23 March 2009, it was announced that REO were to submit the planning application for their proposal to Wandsworth Council.{{cite web
| url = https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/archive/battersea-power-station-regeneration-to-go-to-planning-24-03-2009/
| title = Battersea Power Station regeneration to go to planning
| access-date = 24 March 2009
| last = Whitten
| first = Nick
| date = 24 March 2009}}
The Council gave planning consent on 11 November 2010.{{cite web
| url = http://www.propertyweek.com/news/news-by-region/london/reos-battersea-power-station-granted-consent-by-wandsworth/5008973.article
| title = REO's Battersea Power Station granted consent by Wandsworth
| first = David
| last = Hatcher
| date = 12 November 2010
| work = www.propertyweek.com
| access-date = 28 January 2011
}} REO hoped construction would begin in 2011, but this was cancelled.{{cite web|url=http://www.officespacefinders.com/serviced/new-battersea-power-station-plans-include-office-space-4250 |title=New Battersea Power Station plans include office space |publisher=Officespacefinders.com |date=14 February 2011 |access-date=27 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130925215901/http://www.officespacefinders.com/serviced/new-battersea-power-station-plans-include-office-space-4250 |archive-date=25 September 2013 }} The station structure itself was expected to be repaired and secure by 2016, with completion of the whole project by 2020. Plans included the construction of 3,400 apartments and {{convert|3500000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} of office space. Approximately 28,000 inhabitants and 25,000 workers would be expected to occupy the space once complete.{{cite web
| url = http://news.searchofficespace.com/sos-news/what-will-become-of-battersea-power-station.html
| title = What will become of Battersea Power Station?
| first = Clare
| last = Hudson
| date = 30 March 2011
| access-date = 30 March 2011
| archive-date = 30 August 2011
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110830011130/http://news.searchofficespace.com/sos-news/what-will-become-of-battersea-power-station.html
| url-status = dead
}}
Reuters reported in September 2011 that lenders would allow more time for a new equity partner to be found:{{cite news| url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/battersea-idUKL5E7K10Q920110901 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102214716/http://uk.reuters.com/article/battersea-idUKL5E7K10Q920110901 | url-status=dead | archive-date=2 January 2016 | work=Reuters | title=Banks waive Battersea Power Station debt deadline | date=1 September 2011}}
Lenders to the owner of Battersea Power Station in London waived a debt maturity deadline yesterday while talks with potential new equity partners for its redevelopment continued, a source close to the process told Reuters. AIM-listed Real Estate Opportunities is seeking a partner for the 5.5 billion pound ($9 billion) development, and its senior lenders Lloyds and Ireland's National Asset Management Agency have already extended a deadline once relating to the £400{{nbsp}}million REO paid for the site in 2006. 'The banks have nothing to gain by calling the debt in. Talks with new equity partners continue, and an announcement may come in the next few weeks,' the source said.
However, in November 2011, Lloyds and NAMA called in the debt and the REO scheme collapsed into administration.{{cite news| last=Garside | first=Juliette | title=Battersea Power Station calls in administrators |newspaper=The Guardian | date=30 November 2011 | url=http://www.theguardian.com/business/2011/nov/30/battersea-power-station-redevelopment-collapses}}
= Alternative proposals =
== Farrell and Partners urban park proposal ==
File:Battersea Power Station and Chelsea Bridge London UK 1992.JPG]]
In February 2012, Sir Terry Farrell's architectural firm put forward a proposal to convert the power station site into an "urban park" with an option to develop housing at a later date. In this vision, Farrell proposed to demolish all but the central boiler hall and chimneys and display the switching equipment from the control rooms in 'pods'. However, this plan was always unlikely to bear fruit due to the Grade II listing status of the building.[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/uk/london/9109503/Battersea-Power-Station-the-latest-attempt-to-save-the-crumbling-landmark.html 'Battersea Power Station the latest attempt to save the crumbling landmark'] Daily Telegraph 28 February 2012
== Chelsea F.C. interest ==
In November 2008, Chelsea F.C. was reported to be considering moving to a new purpose built stadium at Battersea Power Station. The proposed stadium was to hold between 65,000 and 75,000 fans and feature a retractable roof. The proposals were designed by HOK Sport, the same company who designed Wembley Stadium. However, the scheme was seriously in doubt due to concerns for the preservation of the site and the collapse of the REO scheme in late November 2011.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/17958598 | title=Chelsea make offer to buy Battersea Power Station | work=BBC News | date=4 May 2012}}{{Cite web |last=Mansfield |first=Ian |date=2016-09-24 |title=Unbuilt London: Battersea Power Station's football stadium |url=https://www.ianvisits.co.uk/articles/unbuilt-london-battersea-power-stations-football-stadium-18693/ |access-date=2023-08-19 |website=ianVisits |language=en-GB}}
On 4 May 2012, Chelsea announced a bid to purchase the site to build a 60,000-seater stadium in conjunction with property developers Almacantar.{{Cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/home/article/16222072|title=Chelsea Bid For Battersea Site}} However the bid was not accepted.
= 2012 redevelopment plans =
File:Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms, London.jpg
File:Battersea Power Station Feb05.jpg towers.]]
Following the failure of the REO bid to develop the site, in February 2012, the power station was put up for sale on the open market for the first time in its history. The sale was conducted by the commercial estate agent, Knight Frank, on behalf of the site's creditors. In May 2012, several bids were received for the landmark site, which was put on the market after Nama and Lloyds Banking Group called in loans held by Treasury Holdings' Real Estate Opportunities (REO). Bids were received from Chelsea F.C. with other interested parties including a Malaysian interest, SP Setia, London & Regional, a company owned by the London-based Livingstone brothers, and housebuilder Berkeley. The net price was £400{{nbsp}}million which would discharge the £325{{nbsp}}million to cover the debts held by Nama and Lloyds plus a £100{{nbsp}}million contribution to the Northern line extension. If the sale was unsuccessful, the administrator or its agent(s) would have kept the landowner's duty to maintain and preserve the site per its listed status.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-17159188 |title=Battersea Power Station in London on sale |work=BBC News |date=24 February 2012 |access-date=27 March 2013}}
== Agreement with Malaysian developers ==
In June 2012, Knight Frank announced that administrators Ernst & Young had entered into an exclusive agreement with Malaysian developers S P Setia (a property company), Sime Darby (a trading conglomerate) and Employees Provident Fund (Malaysia's largest pension fund).{{cite news |date=7 June 2012 |title=Battersea Power Station: Malaysian company beats Chelsea bid |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18352786 |url-status=live |access-date=7 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607101333/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-18352786 |archive-date=7 June 2012}}{{Cite web |last1=Hammond |first1=Ed |last2=Grant |first2=Jeremy |date=5 July 2012 |title=Malaysians seal £400m Battersea deal |url=https://www.ft.com/content/0b13b6b2-c674-11e1-963a-00144feabdc0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210914105820/https://www.ft.com/content/0b13b6b2-c674-11e1-963a-00144feabdc0 |archive-date=14 September 2021 |access-date=14 September 2021 |website=Financial Times}} Following due diligence and agreement of the final terms of the deal, the sale to the Malaysian consortium was completed in September 2012.{{cite news|title=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-19491249 | date=5 September 2012}}
The redevelopment of the site used the existing Vinoly master plan, which intended to position the power station as the central focus of the regenerated site, housing a blend of shops, cafes, restaurants, art and leisure facilities, office space and residential accommodation. The plan included the restoration of the historic power station itself, the creation of a new riverside park to the north of the power station and the creation of a new High Street designed to link the entrance to Battersea Power Station tube station with the power station.{{Cite news |last=Werdigier |first=Julia |date=7 June 2012 |title=New Buyers for Venerable London Power Station |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/08/business/global/2-malaysian-property-groups-to-buy-bankrupt-london-landmark.html |url-status=live |access-date=9 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909144052/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/08/business/global/2-malaysian-property-groups-to-buy-bankrupt-london-landmark.html |archive-date=9 September 2021 |issn=0362-4331}} The redevelopment hoped to bring about the extension of the existing riverside walk and facilitate access directly from the power station to Battersea Park and Chelsea Bridge.{{cite web|title=Architects' Journal|date=5 September 2012 |url=http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/vinoly-drmm-and-simpson-to-deliver-8bn-battersea-power-station-overhaul/8635347.article}} The full redevelopment consisted of eight main phases, some of which were planned to run concurrently. The plan included over 800 homes of varying sizes.{{cite web|title=Detailed plans for power station approved|url=http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/article/11595/detailed_plans_for_power_station_approved|access-date=27 March 2013|archive-date=22 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022095131/http://www.wandsworth.gov.uk/news/article/11595/detailed_plans_for_power_station_approved|url-status=dead}}
Construction work on Phase 1, called Circus West Village, designed by architects SimpsonHaugh and dRMM, was undertaken by Carillion and commenced in 2013 alongside work on the power station.{{cite web|url=https://www.constructionnews.co.uk/buildings/sectors/battersea-power-station-chief-why-we-chose-carillion-22-05-2013/|title=Carillion chosen for Battersea Power Station £400m phase one for construction expertise|publisher=Construction News|date=22 May 2013|access-date=9 November 2013}} Phase 1 was completed in 2017, with the Northern line extension and its new Battersea Power Station terminus completed in 2021.{{cite web|title=TFL |url=http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/21614.aspx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203032025/http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/21614.aspx |archive-date= 3 December 2013 }} Circus West Village has over 1500 residents and over 23 restaurants, cafes and retailers.{{cite web |title=Battersea Power Station: flat sales in £9bn project now running at £10m a month as developers say scheme is back on track |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/buying-mortgages/battersea-power-station-flat-sales-in-ps9bn-project-now-running-at-ps10m-a-month-as-developers-say-scheme-is-back-on-track-a132666.html |website=Evening Standard |access-date=13 August 2019}}{{cite web |title=In pictures: First residents move into restored Battersea Power Station switch house |url=https://www.building.co.uk/news/in-pictures-first-residents-move-into-restored-battersea-power-station-switch-house/5111993.article |website=Building |access-date=26 May 2021}}
WilkinsonEyre was appointed in 2013 to carry out the restoration of the Grade II* listed Power Station.{{cite web|title=WilkinsonEyre and Purcell to Restore Grade II* Battersea Power Station, The Architects' Journal 30 May 2013|date=30 May 2013 |url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/home/wilkinson-eyre-and-purcell-to-restore-grade-ii-battersea-power-station/8648692.article}} Work commenced in 2013 and plans included the restoration of the art deco structure internally and externally, reconstruction of the chimneys, and refurbishment of the historic cranes and jetty as a new river taxi stop.{{cite news|title=Battersea Power Station flats snapped up|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/9800773/Battersea-Power-Station-flats-snapped-up.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/constructionandproperty/9800773/Battersea-Power-Station-flats-snapped-up.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Denise|last=Roland|date=14 January 2013}}{{cbignore}} Restoration work on the power station's chimneys was completed in 2017.{{cite web |title=World-famous chimneys of Battersea Power Station are fully restored |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/worldfamous-chimneys-of-battersea-power-station-are-fully-restored-a3557386.html |website=Evening Standard |date=5 June 2017 |access-date=5 June 2017}} In 2019, the jetty in front of the power station opened to the public for the first time in its history.{{cite web |title=Battersea Power Station opens Coaling Jetty to the public amid mammoth revamp project |url=https://www.cityam.com/battersea-power-station-opens-coaling-jetty-to-the-public-amid-mammoth-revamp-project/ |website=City AM |date=6 August 2019 |access-date=6 August 2019}} Retail brands inside the power station include BOSS, Jo Malone London, Uniqlo, Mac Cosmetics, Space NK, Watches of Switzerland and many more.{{cite news |title=Luxury brands see beauty of Battersea power station |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/luxury-brands-see-beauty-of-battersea-power-station-27fdk85sr |website=The Times |access-date=3 March 2020|last1=Clarence-Smith |first1=Louisa }}{{cite web |title=Battersea Power Station fit for the 'future' of retail |url=https://www.drapersonline.com/news/battersea-power-station-fit-for-the-future-of-retail |website=Drapers |date=4 March 2020 |access-date=4 March 2021}} In May 2021, the first residents moved into their new homes at the power station.{{cite web |title=First residents move into multi-billion pound Battersea Power Station |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/homesandproperty/property-news/first-residents-battersea-power-station-b937080.html |website=Evening Standard |access-date=25 May 2021}} As part of the development, a 200-seat theatre, the Turbine Theatre, was established in railway arches under the Grosvenor Bridge in September 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theturbinetheatre.com/about-us|title=The Turbine Theatre: About Us|access-date=31 May 2021}}
In October 2013, Frank Gehry was appointed joint architect with Foster + Partners to design "Phase 3" of the scheme, which will provide "the gateway to the entire development and the new Northern line extension".{{cite web | title= Superstar Architects Gehry and Foster to design Battersea Power Station's High Street |url=http://www.primeresi.com/superstar-architects-gehry-and-foster-to-design-battersea-power-stations-high-street/24772/ | access-date=23 October 2013|date=22 October 2013 }}
=London Underground extension=
File:Battersea Power Station Tube Station.jpg
{{Main|Northern line extension to Battersea}}
The London Underground's Northern line was extended to serve Nine Elms and the power station, branching off at Kennington station. Two stations, Nine Elms station and Battersea Power Station station, opened on 20 September 2021.{{Cite news |date=2021-09-20 |title=Northern line extension: Two new Tube stations open |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-58621491 |access-date=2023-08-19}} The construction cost £1.1{{nbsp}}billion and is {{convert|2|mi|adj=off}} long. The developers provided £270m towards the construction of the extension.
= Apple =
In September 2016, Apple announced plans to consolidate 1,400 London employees, from seven locations, at the station by 2021, occupying around {{convert|500000|sqft|m2}} of the power station building as its new London headquarters. The move was later delayed to 2022 by the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Cite web |last=Lovejoy |first=Ben |date=16 November 2021 |title=Apple London campus delay sees company lease space in City's tallest skyscraper |url=https://9to5mac.com/2021/11/16/apple-london-campus-delay-22-bishopsgate/ |access-date=11 September 2022 |website=9to5Mac |language=en-US}} Apple and other firms will share the site with over 4,000 homes, of which 295 are in the power station.{{Cite news |title=Revealed: Apple to create stunning new London HQ at Battersea Power Station |first=Jonathan |last=Prynn |date=28 September 2016 |work=Evening Standard |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/revealed-apple-to-create-stunning-new-hq-at-battersea-power-station-a3356201.html |access-date=28 September 2016}}
=2022 opening=
File:London Borough of Wandsworth - Battersea Power Station - 20221014193138.jpg
Works were completed and nearly forty years after the lights were switched off, Battersea Power Station opened its doors to the public on Friday 14 October 2022, marking the first time the public were able to explore the iconic building and the first tranche of shops, bars, restaurants and leisure venues.{{Cite news |date=2022-10-14 |title=Battersea Power Station opens after decades of decay |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-63234124 |access-date=2023-08-19}}
Electric Boulevard, a new pedestrianised high street, that runs between Gehry Partners' Prospect Place and Foster + Partners' Battersea Roof Gardens to the riverside neighbourhood's Zone 1 London Underground Station, opened the same day.
As well as 254 apartments inside the power station itself, the 42-acre site also contains apartment buildings designed by US architect Frank Gehry and by Foster + Partners. The first residents had moved in to the power station in May 2021.{{cite news| last=Kollewe | first=Julia | title=Battersea power station set for public opening after 10-year development |newspaper=The Guardian | date=5 October 2022 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/oct/05/battersea-power-station-set-for-public-opening-after-10-year-development}} The roof-gardens have been designed by Andy Sturgeon and his team.The Art of the Garden, Andy Sturgeon, Battersea Power Station, 19:00 30/05/2023, Sky Arts 1, 60 mins. https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/ondemand/index.php/prog/3C0FF2E9?bcast=139063216 (Accessed 14 Feb 2024){{cite web | url=https://www.andysturgeon.com/news/battersea-power-station/ | title=Battersea Power Station | }} It won the Garden of the Year Award 2024 of the Society of Garden Designers.{{cite web | url=https://www.andysturgeon.com/news/hattrick-for-andy-sturgeon-design-at-society-of-garden-designers-awards/ | title=Hat-trick for Andy Sturgeon Design at Society of Garden Designers Awards | }}
Event venue
The power station has been used for various sporting, cultural and political events. Since 22 August 2009, the station has been used as a venue on the Red Bull X-Fighters season.{{cite news
| title = Red Bull X-Fighters in London: Robbie Madison interview
| url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorbikes/sportmotorbikes/6065113/Video-Red-Bull-X-Fighters-in-London-Robbie-Madison-interview.html
| archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20110312045836/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorbikes/sportmotorbikes/6065113/Video-Red-Bull-X-Fighters-in-London-Robbie-Madison-interview.html
| url-status = dead
| archive-date = 12 March 2011
| work = The Daily Telegraph
| location = London
| date = 21 August 2009
| access-date = 23 August 2009
}} On 13 April 2010 the station was used as the venue for the launch of the Conservative Party's 2010 general election manifesto.{{cite news|title=Manifesto Watch: Tory launch |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8617000.stm |format=STM |work=BBC News |date=13 April 2010 |access-date=8 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416205018/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8617000.stm |archive-date=16 April 2010 }} Between 6 and 7 May 2010, the station site was used by Sky News in their coverage of the election.{{cite news
| title = Election coverage watched by almost ten million
| first = Maisie
| last = McCabe
| url = http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/1001768/Election-coverage-watched-almost-ten-million/
| publisher = Brand Republic
| date = 7 May 2010
| access-date = 8 May 2010
}} Most recently, the power station has been used for a light show.{{Cite web |title=Battersea Power Station Light Show |url=https://seeninthecity.co.uk/2023/01/11/battersea-power-station-light-festival/ |website=Seen in the City|date=11 January 2023 }}
In popular culture
File:Battersea Power Station in London (2006).jpg
Battersea Power Station has become an iconic structure, featured in or used as a shooting location for many films, television programmes, music videos, and video games. One of the station's earliest film appearances was in Alfred Hitchcock's 1936 film Sabotage; this was before the construction of the B station.{{cite video
| people = Alfred Hitchcock – Director
| date = 1936
| title = Sabotage
| url = http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6333673406093563768&ei=OWrGSdaKNYbN-QbJgd3VAQ&q=hitchcock+sabotage&hl=en
| access-date = 22 March 2009
| time = 01:50 – 02:15
| url-status = dead
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120509233250/http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6333673406093563768
| archive-date = 9 May 2012
| df = dmy-all
}}
The station gained exposure in the cover photograph of Pink Floyd's 1977 album, Animals, which sold millions of copies worldwide. The photo, taken in early December 1976, shows the power station with an inflatable pink pig floating above it. It was tethered to one of the power station's southern chimneys, but broke loose from its moorings and drifted into the flight path of Heathrow Airport. The album itself was officially launched at an event at the power station.{{cite web|title=Pink Floyd|work=Battersea Power Station Community Group|url= http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/floyd.html|access-date= 3 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080921232842/http://www.batterseapowerstation.org.uk/floyd.html|archive-date=21 September 2008|url-status=dead}}
The control room of Station A is used as the backdrop for a scene in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983).{{Cite web|url=https://artdecosociety.uk/2021/05/11/battersea-power-station-part-3-life-and-death/|title=Battersea Power Station Part Three – Life and Death|first=Art Deco Society|last=UK|date=11 May 2021}} The station appears in the 1997 music video for The Pillows song, "Hybrid Rainbow".{{cite web|title=The Pillows|work=Youtube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BDW1V_P5sA}} In the 2006 movie Children of Men, it serves as the fictional "Ark of Arts". A pig balloon also appears in the scene as homage to Pink Floyd.{{cite news |last=Faraci |first=Devin |date=4 January 2007 |title=Exclusive Interview: Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men) |publisher=Chud.com |url=https://chud.com/8440/exclusive-interview-alfonso-cuaron-children-of-men/ |access-date=8 February 2007}} Scenes from the 2008 Batman film The Dark Knight were filmed at Battersea.{{sfn|Duncan Jesser|Pourroy|2012|pp=168–169, 226}}{{sfn|Duncan Jesser|Pourroy|2012|p=187}} Battersea was featured as a redeveloped shopping centre in the 2020 video game Watch Dogs: Legion.{{cite news |title=Watch Dogs: Legion map - London landmark locations, plus map accuracy and boundaries explained |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/watch-dogs-legion-map-london-accuracy-landmarks-7054 |access-date=29 May 2024 |website=Eurogamer.net}}
See also
{{Portal|London|Energy}}
References
Footnotes
{{reflist|33em}}
Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
- {{cite book |last1=Duncan Jesser |first1=Jody |last2=Pourroy |first2=Janine |title=The Art and Making of the Dark Knight Trilogy |date=2012 |publisher=Abrams Books |location=New York City, New York | isbn=978-1-4197-0369-0 |oclc=755699530 }}
- {{Citation | last = Watts | first = Peter | title = Up in Smoke: The Failed Dreams of Battersea Power Station | year = 2016 | publisher = Paradise Road | isbn = 978-0-9935702-0-9 }}
{{refend}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726181931/http://www.inspiringcities.org/index.php?id=388&page_type=Article&id_article=19254 Battersea Power Station and Bankside (Tate Modern) compared]
- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/uk_battersea_power_station/html/1.stm BBC picture gallery]
- {{NHLE |num=1357620 |desc=Grade II at the time of entry (Grade II* since 2007)}}
- {{EHbarName|Battersea+Power+Station}}
- [http://www.itnsource.com/shotlist//RTV/2007/02/16/RTV248507//ITN/1964/04/21/FS210464001/?s=battersea+power+station+fire&st=0&pn=1 Footage of Battersea Power Station Fire in 1964]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
{{London Powerstations}}
{{London landmarks}}
{{Major Development Projects in London}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Good article}}
Category:1933 establishments in England
Category:1983 disestablishments in England
Category:Art Deco architecture in London
Category:Buildings and structures in Battersea
Category:Coal-fired power stations in England
Category:Cogeneration power stations in England
Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 1933
Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 1955
Category:Former power stations in London
Category:Giles Gilbert Scott buildings
Category:Grade II* listed buildings in the London Borough of Wandsworth
Category:Grade II* listed industrial buildings
Category:Power stations on the River Thames