Since 1932, Battersea Power Station has been a familiar sight in the very centre of London. Having been decommissioned in 1983, it has become one of the most recognisable landmarks in the city, and remained largely untouched by the bustling city it lives in - that is, aside from its successful career in showbiz, featuring an appearance on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 album Animals, and its cameo in The Beatles’ 1965 film Help!
However, all this has begun to change. In 2014, plans to develop the half-forgotten area of central London were approved. Once a perfect location for a power station, now it is hoped it will be an ideal residential community that is fully-equipped with bustling shops, comfortable neighbourhoods, and leafy park walks, all in the vicinity of the beautiful riverside.
With the enormous 200 acre Battersea Park a short walk in one direction, and the desirable locations of Chelsea and Sloan Square moments in the other, with an abundance of attractive shops and restaurants, the area is perfect for development.
Watch the architect and masterplanner of the project, Raphael Vinoly, give a wonderful outline of the plans for the Battersea Power Station redevelopment here...
What’s being done?
The project is currently in its first phase of construction, and with a team of 1,000 tradespeople, it is moving swiftly on.
The process of installing glass facades is currently underway, with the glazing of each floor taking around two weeks to complete. As each floor gets glazed, the internal fittings are then installed.
If you’re interested by the ongoing work at Battersea Power Station, click here to keep up to date with what’s going on.
Pretty efficient work if you ask me!
Who’s doing it?
It truly is an enormous plan - with £8 billion investment, this is no conservatory extension. Thousands of tradespeople have been called upon to commence the construction of this fantastic new addition to London, and thousands more will be in demand for the rest of its existence, with maintenance and further development a necessity to prolong its survival.
The development and success of the project so far is testimony to what skilled tradespeople can achieve.
Click here to view the extraordinary time lapse films of the construction project underway.
What do the neighbours think?
In such a big, crowded city as London already is, you might think there’d be a reluctance from some neighbours in the surrounding areas.
However, the Battersea Project ensures that neighbours get to attend a meeting every two months, allowing them to be informed of every development and to propose questions and queries to any detail.
Overall, this project will massively benefit the local people. When asked what life will be like for the residents of Battersea Power Station, the architect and masterplanner Raphael Vinoly replied simply “spectacular”. Sounds good, doesn’t it?
Tradespeople everywhere… become inspired!
The UK needs more tradespeople than ever to perform more incredible feats of human achievement. In recent years, tradespeople have been in largely concerning decline, creating a significant skills gap which is widening.
Although this is partly worrying, it is also encouraging to those looking to get into the trades industry. With such a skills gap, tradespeople are in enormous demand, and finding work once qualified and ready will be no hard task.
Projects such as the Battersea Power Station development serves to incite aspiring tradespeople across the country to become qualified and join in the movement. Such developments are reminders of the incredible things that tradespeople do on a daily basis: create places for us to live safely, socialise happily, feel comfortable, and essentially, survive.
If you want to contribute to incredible projects and developments happening all over the UK, such as the Battersea Power Station Project, make sure you have the best skills possible by getting in touch with Access Training on 0800 345 7492.
Our course advisors are always happy to give you any information you might require, and find the best deal for you.
HeaderBy Alberto Pascual - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0