Tag Archives: Central London

Congress is about to pull funding on the £600m US embassy

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We just received more evidence to support the flawed nature of the BPS scheme. The US Congress is withdrawing the money for developing the US embassy, according to a detail contained in the latest bipartisan budget deal. And even more good news: the decision could also affect Boris Johnson’s plan for the Northern Line Extension. As reported on the Financial Times and Buzzfeed. This will seriously affect the Nine Elms Battersea opportunity area.

USembassy

The enormous glass cube which was about to become the US embassy is currently being built on the south side of the Thames in central London. It was seen as key to spurring the redevelopment of the Nine Elms area of the capital and led to talk of a new “embassy quarter”, with the Netherlands and China also considering plans to move their diplomatic missions to the same area. Transport for London documents state that the “first major contributor” to the enterprise zone “is expected to be the US Embassy”.

Together with the news that the development officer at the Battersea Power Station Development Company is leaving the project in May. Looks like Peak Power Station has been reached and is already downsizing.

Alistair Shaw, who joined the Battersea development team in February 2013, handed his notice in before Christmas and will leave in May to pursue other development interests in the West End and central London. Shaw previously worked as the head of retail development at Stanhope on projects including Hereford town centre, which is due for completion later this year.

A revised planning application for Battersea Power Station has been submitted and will be heard in April, while a reserved matters planning application for the high street element of the scheme is expected to be submitted in April.

Seems like some positive changes are finally happening.

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Pink Floyd fans witness redevelopment failure of the Battersea Power Station 35 years later

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A pig is flying over the Battersea Power Station, London again, 35 years after it flew there for the first time in 1977. On both occasions Pink Floyd released the albums with the floating pig shot on the covers, and even though the musicians did not attend the events in person, they once again brought desirable publicity to the derelict station.

The two covers, Animals in the past and Why Pink Floyd…? today,  can be easily confused, as this landmark site looks exactly the same as 35 years ago. This is in spite of the owners constant promises to renovate the station and “create an entirely new district for London“. The current development proposal aims to create the first zero carbon office space in Central London, “a stunning event space”, the river walk section, a green energy plant and a conference centre etc.

However, so far the inflatable pig is probably the only “cultural” mark at the station site, despite the cultural rejuvenation plans proudly announced on the Battersea Power Station Website . The power station has been unused since its closure in 1982, and is gradually falling to the ruin. In consequence, English Heritage described the conditions at the place as “very bad”, and included it on the Buildings at Risk Register.

The current owners,  Treasury Holdings, struggle to make the ends meet due to the Irish banking crisis. This might force the company to sell the station to another private developer willing to face those financial challenges, which the previous three owners failed to cope with. Further information can be found on the Spectacle’s Blog.

Perhaps real pigs will start flying sooner than the actual redevelopment will finally begin.

Click Battersea Power Station for more blogs
See our Battersea Power Station project pages for more information and videos.
Or visit PlanA our general blog on urbanism, planning and architecture.

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