Council gives a green light to Battersea Power Station

Battersea Power Station is to house two hotels and several restaurants, following detailed planning consent from Wandsworth council to owners Parkview International. A 400-bedroom resort hotel has been approved within the development of the 37-acre site along the south bank of the Thames in London. A planning application for a 700-bedroom conference hotel will be made by the end of this year.

The power station itself will become an "integrated entertainment, leisure, sport, retail and restaurant destination". Specific restaurant details are still unknown.

The development will include a new railway station with a shuttle service to Victoria station, a riverside walkway and a new pier to provide a riverboat service.

Discussions are continuing with performance circus troupe Cirque du Soleil for a custom-designed theatre to occupy half the central hall of the power station. Warner Brothers has expressed an interest in operating a 16-screen cinema, and at least one thrill ride, a high gravity lift, will be installed in one of the station's chimneys.

Residential apartments, retail and office space are also planned. When finished the facility will provide about 5,000 full-time jobs. However, building work on the scheme is unlikely to begin before the end of 2001.

by Sara Guild sara.guild@rbi.co.uk

Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 23-29 November 2000