Battersea regeneration project gets planning boost

The Battersea Power Station site as it might look once completed

Treasury Holdings-backed Real Estate Opportunities (REO) has received approval from Wandsworth Council for its planning application for the Battersea Power Station site.

According to REO, approval of the planning application, the largest ever in Central London, is a major step towards the regeneration of the Battersea Power Station. The next stage of the process will see the application referred to the Mayor of London and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for their consideration.

The Ł5.5 billion redevelopment, which is intended to be completed in a number of phases over 13 years, will create a 10.1m sq ft mixed-use sustainable development with over 3,400 new homes and 1.7m sq ft of office space alongside 1.5m sq ft of other commercial uses including community, hotels, cultural, leisure, conference centre, shops and restaurants.

At the heart of the development will be the restored power station.

The development will also include a new tube station on the proposed extension of the Northern Line from Kennington to Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station. This will be the first ever privately funded extension to the tube network in Central London.

The scheme is expected to generate approximately 15,000 new jobs and training opportunities.

REO said it is confident that it will be able to finance the project and has already attracted significant interest from a range of prospective investors. It said its strategy has always been to partner with a new investor, and it hopes to announce significant progress in this regard early in the new year.

Construction on Phase 1 of the development is scheduled to commence in early 2012 with completion in 2016. The remaining phases, including the new underground station will follow, with the entire development scheduled for completion in 2024.