This increasingly affluent Thames-side neighbourhood is a unique combination of industrial, developing land, luxury riverside flats and, high-density residential areas, most notably the huge 28-block Patmore Estate built in the 1950s, which houses most of the local population. Battersea Power Station is probably the neighbourhood’s most notable building, with its four iconic chimneys increasingly dwarfed by the new luxury apartments built around it, but still just about visible from the sprawling Battersea Park that sits to the area’s west. The site’s seemingly eternal building work is almost as much a staple of the local environment as the former power station itself! Battersea Park and Wandsworth Road stations operate on the Overground line, making the well-connected area popular with commuters, and with Stockwell just a short walk east, there’s no shortage of ways to get into central London.

The area was owned by the Abbey of Westminster until it passed to the Crown following the dissolution of the monasteries. Predominantly marshland, industries such as a shot foundry, whitewash works, and a brewhouse were the only buildings that could put the land to use during the 18th century. The railway out to Clapham Junction and the opening of Chelsea Bridge and Battersea Park in 1858 encouraged the development of residential streets of affordable houses. The recognisable chimneys of Battersea Power Station were erected between the 1930s and 50s, capping off one of the world’s largest brick buildings, and providing power until 1983. A scheme for a theme park was approved in 1986, but could not be completed due to a lack of funding, with the plan halted in 1989. Numerous ideas have been put forward for the site, including flats, a park, a new power station, and, most notably, a new stadium for Chelsea F.C.

As one of London’s most iconic buildings, it is not surprising that Battersea Power Station has been featured in countless media including Alfred Hitchcock’s 1936 film Sabotage, Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life from 1983 and even The Dark Knight from 2007. It was also on the cover of Pink Floyd’s 1977 album Animals with a large inflatable pig floating above it. During the photoshoot, the pig detached from the chimney it was tethered to and floated into the flight path of Heathrow Airport, causing major delays before landing in Kent!

Despite the area’s increasing wealth, it remains a largely industrial area, crisscrossed by rumbling overhead train lines that can be heard at all times of the day. While the new buildings are built with soundproofing, those built a while ago are dogged by noise pollution, which is disruptive to residents, particularly those with children.

Battersea Power Station is London’s most notorious development currently underway due to its fantastic location and famous building. After the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund PNB bought the site for £1.6bn in January 2018, plans have been put in place for the transformation of the building into retail and luxury residential space, including Apples’s new London Campus that is set to house 1,500 employees. The king of Malaysia even visited the site in 2021 and unveiled a plaque commemorating his visit in the newly-built Malaysia Square, one of the development’s open spaces.

The power station recently finished a £9bn residential, retail and leisure development, much of which was designed by Foster + Partners and apartments by Frank Gehry architects. The initial proposal included 50% affordable homes, but only 9% of the properties ended up falling into this category. The $1bn mixed-use skyscraper One Nine Elms is another significant construction project being overseen by the Chinese property developer R&F Properties, and is predicted to be one of the country’s tallest residential buildings when it opens in November 2023. Further still, both the Netherlands and Chinese embassies are looking to follow the U.S. and relocate to the area. That said, buyers do not seem to be flocking to the area enthusiastically. Fears are even growing that much of a multi-billion pound development at the heart of the regeneration project will lie empty with developers selling just one third of the apartments on offer. R&F has stated that it will increase its commercial and office offerings at the expense of some residential units. They claim that this is being done in response to an increase in demand for such uses, but one can also speculate that they are attempting to compensate for the lack of demand for luxury residences in the area. That said, 90% of the luxury apartments developed for the Battersea Powe Station conversion are already sold, so there may still be home for the area’s future activity.