Wandsworth council grant permission for Battersea redevelopment

Planning permission has been granted for the initial stages of the much publicised regeneration of the area surrounding Battersea Power Station.

Owners – Battersea Power Station Development Company – can now commence the sale of 800 residential units from January, with construction expected to start in the latter half of 2013 and a completion date scheduled for 2016.

The first units will be built outside of the iconic power station, followed by the riverside park, which is expected to open by May 2013.

The current design was originally proposed by Treasury Holdings in 2008, as part of Rafeal Viñoly’s vision for the regeneration of the area, which has been left vacant since the power station ceased generating electricity in 1983.

Over 1.7m sq ft of office space is incorporated into the current plans, alongside 3,400 homes, 500,000 sq ft of retail space and two hotels with 400 bedrooms combined.

The largest brick building in Europe, Battersea Power Station was constructed in the 1930s and - despite being in what English Heritage have described as a “very bad” condition – still boasts a lavish collection of interior Art Deco fittings.

Despite interest from various international consortia in demolishing the building, its inclusion on the Buildings at Risk Register and a crippling £750m debt, options that preserve the original structure have been preferred.

The Grade II listed property’s pop-culture status has been cemented by its inclusion on such projects as the Pink Floyd ‘Animals’ album cover, where a pig was famously flown from the roof, as well as The Beatles’ 1965 movie ‘Help!’ and Take That’s video for ‘The Flood’.