The Battersea power station used to be a proper power station until its decommission. It’s an iconic building in the south bank of the river Thames. The station divides in two units, Battersea B and Battersea A east and west. The construction begins in 1929 with Battersea A and Battersea B begins in 1937. Completion will not occur before 1955 after the end of WWII. The station itself supplied a fifth of the London population. Battersea A will cease to function in 1975 and Battersea B in 1983. The power station remains abandoned and deteriorated until 2014.
During all this time multiple projects were on the table. The Central Electricity Generating Board in charge of the station planned to demolish it following the closure. Demolition would had been costly since the building is Grade II status for preservation. A conversion into a theme park is a suggestion in the 80’s. The project stopped in 1989 for lack of fundings. Several companies took over the place in attempts to redevelop the site but not successful. In 2012 Malaysian developers agrees to renovate the historic turbines halls, that will includes a shopping mall, offices, restaurants, retailers. The project which other companies took part included the redevelopment of the surrounding area. The project benefited of the extension of the Northern line. This new shopping venue opened in 2022.
