and the ruination of Irish property tycoons, Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, in particular. Just to recap the history of the building: leading architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designed BPS in 1933. John Mowlem & Co built the main building, and the total cost of construction was £2,141,550 – billions in today’s money. It was 1953 before BPS was fully in operation as a coal-fired powered station. By1975 the day of coal as a major provider of electricity was over. In the meantime, the building had become an international icon. BPS has both the blessing and the curse to be the largest brick building in Europe. Its expansiveness makes it unsuitable for the type of development of Bankside, its sister building down the river (Tate Modern). Besides, the other end of town has the benefit of City finance, a privilege the Battersea site lacks. Over the years, proposals have come and been banished, one by one for a variety of reasons; among them a dearth of funds, opposition by heritage groups and of local residents.
Now, the latest news is that Malaysian property developers SP Setia and Sime Darby Property have outbid Chelsea Football Club by putting forward a £400 million plan for the development of the site. In addition to this, the duo is putting forward £250 million for an extension of the Northern Line to the site.
Already, a chorus of sceptical voices, the lowest of which is not Chelsea, is dooming the project before it has even begun. As I said at the outset, we can only wait and see.
Saturday 9 June 2012
The Great Battersea Saga
The great Battersea Power Station saga has taken another turn. In 2010 I reported that “Real Estate Opportunities, the firm that bought the site in 2006 has just had a £5.5 billion ‘retail and housing’ plan approved, with the proviso that the Northern Line is extended by two stops to facilitate the shoppers and visitors who will certainly want to go there.” I finished the post by saying “we can only wait and see.”
See we did. Last December, Real Estate Opportunities fell victim to the implosion of the Irish property market in general,
and the ruination of Irish property tycoons, Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, in particular. Just to recap the history of the building: leading architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designed BPS in 1933. John Mowlem & Co built the main building, and the total cost of construction was £2,141,550 – billions in today’s money. It was 1953 before BPS was fully in operation as a coal-fired powered station. By1975 the day of coal as a major provider of electricity was over. In the meantime, the building had become an international icon. BPS has both the blessing and the curse to be the largest brick building in Europe. Its expansiveness makes it unsuitable for the type of development of Bankside, its sister building down the river (Tate Modern). Besides, the other end of town has the benefit of City finance, a privilege the Battersea site lacks. Over the years, proposals have come and been banished, one by one for a variety of reasons; among them a dearth of funds, opposition by heritage groups and of local residents.
Now, the latest news is that Malaysian property developers SP Setia and Sime Darby Property have outbid Chelsea Football Club by putting forward a £400 million plan for the development of the site. In addition to this, the duo is putting forward £250 million for an extension of the Northern Line to the site.
Already, a chorus of sceptical voices, the lowest of which is not Chelsea, is dooming the project before it has even begun. As I said at the outset, we can only wait and see.
and the ruination of Irish property tycoons, Johnny Ronan and Richard Barrett, in particular. Just to recap the history of the building: leading architect, Sir Giles Gilbert Scott, designed BPS in 1933. John Mowlem & Co built the main building, and the total cost of construction was £2,141,550 – billions in today’s money. It was 1953 before BPS was fully in operation as a coal-fired powered station. By1975 the day of coal as a major provider of electricity was over. In the meantime, the building had become an international icon. BPS has both the blessing and the curse to be the largest brick building in Europe. Its expansiveness makes it unsuitable for the type of development of Bankside, its sister building down the river (Tate Modern). Besides, the other end of town has the benefit of City finance, a privilege the Battersea site lacks. Over the years, proposals have come and been banished, one by one for a variety of reasons; among them a dearth of funds, opposition by heritage groups and of local residents.
Now, the latest news is that Malaysian property developers SP Setia and Sime Darby Property have outbid Chelsea Football Club by putting forward a £400 million plan for the development of the site. In addition to this, the duo is putting forward £250 million for an extension of the Northern Line to the site.
Already, a chorus of sceptical voices, the lowest of which is not Chelsea, is dooming the project before it has even begun. As I said at the outset, we can only wait and see.
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