Temporary park will offer unique close-up view of the iconic building
Local people can look forward to picnics outside Battersea Power Station this summer after plans for a new temporary park were approved this week by Wandsworth Council.
The temporary green space would be connected to Battersea Park via a new riverside walkway which would run underneath the Grosvenor Railway Bridge.
The temporary park would be completed by the summer and the site's owners hope to open it to the public as often as possible within the constraints of their construction programme.
The redevelopment of the entire power station site will be completed in phases over the next ten years. Later in the project the temporary green space will be replaced with a permanent six acre public park and riverside walk lined with cafes, restaurant and shops.
The final scheme will also include a new riverbus passenger pier, Tube station, offices and a whole new town centre providing thousands of jobs.
The listed power station building will be restored and opened up to the public for the first time in its history.
The project is one of 27 development schemes taking place across the Nine Elms on the South Bank regeneration area. Together they are expected to provide 25,000 new jobs, 16,000 new homes, parks and a new public market.
The Northern Line is being extended to the district to support its growth.
This area-wide building programme is now underway and is expected to provide an additional 20,000 jobs and 1,000 training positions which are being targeted towards local people.
Wandsworth Council's planning chairman Cllr Nick Cuff said: "A new riverside park would be a major attraction in its own right but this one will be right alongside one of the capital's most iconic buildings. It will be the first time Londoners have been able to set foot on the site and get a close up view of the power station.
"The temporary park will be one of the first pieces of new public space created in Nine Elms. By the time the regeneration programme is complete the temporary park will have been replaced with an even larger, permanent park which will open up a whole new stretch of the South Bank and created a fantastic network of green space."
The planning application can be viewed on the council's website.
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February 15, 2013