Image Released Of Battersea Power Station Redevelopment
New owners can now start first phase of £8 billion masterplan
Detailed plans for the first phase of the Battersea Power Station redevelopment have been approved by Wandsworth Council’s planning applications committee.
The ruling means that the site's new owners can press ahead with the first part of an £8bn masterplan. Work is expected to start next year.
Battersea Power Station is one of 27 major development sites located in Nine Elms on the South Bank - central London 's biggest regeneration area.
During this first phase of work two new buildings will be constructed on vacant land to the west of the power station building. The new blocks will provide 800 homes, a hotel and space for cafes, restaurants, bars, a gym, pool, spa, theatre and office studios.
A new six-acre public park will also be created right on the bank of the Thames .
Work to renovate the badly decayed power station will also begin during phase one. Once fully restored the iconic building will be opened up to the public for the first time.
Later phases of work will see new affordable homes built alongside a new Tube station, riverbus pier, pedestrian squares and a whole new town centre.
Wandsworth Council's planning chairman Nick Cuff said: "This project will restore one of London 's most iconic landmarks and create the first segment of a remarkable new town centre on the Thames riverside. The site's vast empty spaces will be gradually brought to life with new homes, a riverside park and a new commercial centre supporting hundreds of jobs.
"Tonight's decision is another important step towards extending the Northern Line to this site and comes just days after the Government announced it will underpin this vital infrastructure project with a £1bn loan guarantee. The Tube link is the key to creating a total of 16,000 new homes and 25,000 new jobs across the entire Nine Elms on the South Bank district.
"This council has worked long and hard to bring the Tube to Battersea and to realise this area's enormous potential. We are now within touching distance."
About the Northern Line Extension
Earlier this month the Government agreed a loan of up to £1bn that will allow London Underground to fund an extension of the Northern Line to Nine Elms on the South Bank.
The announcement, which came in the Chancellor's 2012 Autumn Statement, follows months of negotiations between Wandsworth Council, the Greater London Authority and HM Treasury over the financing package for the new Tube link.
The loan will be repaid through a tariff on private development projects within this 450 acre regeneration area (including the power station), and through future growth in business rates revenue within a new Nine Elms Enterprise Zone.
The proposal would create two new Tube stops - one on Wandsworth Road , the other at Battersea Power Station.
TfL is currently holding its third and final public consultation on the scheme before the application for a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) is finalised in spring 2013. The TWAO is needed before construction of this large piece of infrastructure can begin.
If planning approval is obtained then construction of the Northern line extension could begin in 2015. Trains could start running in 2020.