New plans for Battersea Power Station being assessed

The long-running saga over what will happen with Battersea Power Station could finally be on its way to being settled. The new owner of the site, a Malaysian investment group, has submitted its plans to Wandsworth Council.

In the past, the 1930s power station, a grade 2 listed building, has been subject to many redevelopment ideas. These have included a theme park, office space and a retail area. All have failed to get off the starting blocks.

However, the £5bn Malaysian offering, which would see the building’s iconic chimneys knocked down and replaced with replicas, perhaps linking to the concrete flooring for extended floor space, seems to be moving forward.

The leader of Wandsworth Council, Ravi Govindia, said:

“The new owners picked up the keys just two months ago so it’s very encouraging to see the project moving ahead so quickly. This site is vital to the regeneration of the wider Nine Elms on the South Bank area and in particular the Northern Line Extension. Our planning team has started to go through the application documents in detail and is writing to local stakeholders to ask for their views.”

As well as developing the existing building, new structures will be built on vacant land on the site. These will include one rising to eight storeys and another to 18.

Once permitted, the development will see 800 new homes created, along with offices, a hotel and a host of leisure amenities. The plans also cover a defined strategy for sustainability and cleaner energy use and waste disposal.