Royal Academy Of Dance To Get New Wandsworth Home


Prestigious dance school's new HQ to be built on York Road

The Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) has taken a step closer to securing a new state-of-the-art training and performance facility in Battersea. Wandsworth Borough Council this week consented to planning permission on a £220m development scheme, within which the RAD’s new headquarters would feature.

The prestigious and historic Royal Academy of Dance will be moving to a new purpose built headquarters after council planners approved plans for the redevelopment of the Homebase warehouse store in York Road.
RAD Battersea

The scheme would replace the warehouse and its car park with a mixed use development that provides a new home for the RAD and 254 homes with communal landscaped gardens.

Fifth Capital bought the site last year for £57m. Construction is due to start on the site in February 2016.

RAD is an international organisation with 14,000 members and 36 offices spread across 83 countries. Having been based in Battersea Square for the past 40 years, the proposed new headquarters will allow the RAD’s London hub to meet the ever-growing demands for high quality dance and performance studios, research facilities and office space.

Luke Rittner, Chief Executive of the Royal Academy of Dance, says: "We are delighted that the planning application has been approved and that the search for a new headquarters for the Royal Academy of Dance has now been successful.

"We are also pleased that the Academy will not be leaving the Borough of Wandsworth and we look forward to strengthening our ties with the local community. The location of the new building will give the Academy higher visibility within the Borough and enable us to increase accessibility not only to the building but to our diverse range of services. It is an exciting time for the Royal Academy of Dance and for Wandsworth.’

To view the current development plans click here

The Royal Academy of Dance

July 28, 2015