Power Players
Evening Standard, Home & Property, 9th July 2008Revised plans for the redevelopment of Battersea Power Station are already proving to be catalyst for smaller housing schemes in the area.
Treasury Holdings, owner of the power station, has unveiled a £4 billion masterplan for the derelict shell of the empty building and 38 acres of precious land surrounding it. If it comes to fruition, where previous plans have failed, this new riverbank community will have 3,200 homes, shopping malls, hotels, cafes and a green office quarter, known as an Ecodome.
The latter will feature a 1,000ft glass "chimney" - taller than Canary Wharf - providing natural air conditioning, hugely reducing the developments electricity needs. Wandsworth council and English Heritage have to be won over: Convicing Mayor Boris Johnson may be harder than winning the support of Ken Livingstone. Yet the project - one of several grand schemes proposed since the closure of the power station 25 years ago - is not only key to the improvement of Nine Elms, the last remaining strip of unregenerated riverside land in central London, but also the wider Battersea district will benefit.
A redeveloped, showpiece power station will help unite Battersea’s grey hinterland and the swanky riverside apartment complexs built in recent years.
Also proposed by Treasury Holdings is a new spur of the Northern Line to link the power station site to the Underground network - necessary because there will be 25,000 employees. At present, no Tube line runs through Battersea.
In addtion, there is the London Heliport, soon to become an integral part of a new scheme called Bridges Wharf - 266 new flats and a swish von Essen boutique hotel plus a landscaped riverside promenade with pavement cafes. Von Essen is upgrading the heliport facilities and will handle transport arrangements for its VIP guests.
On Holman Road, close to Bridges Wharf, developer Thornsett is building Caius House, 73 apartments with a large communal garden occupying the entire roof area. Prices will start at £275,000 when flats are launched later this year. Call 0207 843 9500.