At its peak, Battersea Power Station supplied a fifth of London’s electricity, including to Buckingham Palace and parliament. Today, the most electric thing about it is the virtual reality gaming venue on site. Times have changed – but the reopening of the power station allows us to rediscover one of our finest pieces of industrial heritage and to take stock of the neighbourhood’s £9 billion makeover.
The iconic Grade II*-listed building was decommissioned and shut down in 1983. Over the past ten years, in Europe’s largest urban regeneration project, it has been restored and repurposed. The project reaches its climax today when the power station reopens as a residential, retail and hospitality development. As Simon Murphy, CEO of the development company (owned by a consortium of Malaysian investors), declared: ‘The icon is reborn.’
There is a lot to take in. The site covers 42 acres and includes 3.5 million sq ft of mixed commercial space and 4,239 new homes.
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