Battersea proposals receive CABE backing
Rafael Viñoly's masterplan for the £5.5bn redevelopment of London's Battersea Power Station site has been given the backing of the government's architecture advisory body.
The Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) said plans for the 40-acre (16.2-hectare) site, submitted by developer Treasury Holdings UK in October, has achieved an "impressive amount within the constraints of the building". Battersea's Grade II*-listed power station building is at the heart of proposals to transform the area, which include 700,000sq ft (65,032sq m) of restaurant and retail space, a hotel, community facilities and a conference centre.
A riverside park, an extension to the Riverside Walk through to Battersea Park and public access to restored historic areas of the power station also form part of the scheme, which has been reviewed by CABE six times. A CABE spokesperson said: "CABE has reviewed the scheme six times - which is unusual - but this iterative process has resulted in improvements at each stage, including the complete removal of a controversial new tower in the original proposal.
"CABE is supporting both the outline planning and listed building applications to the London Borough of Wandsworth." However, the advisory body also said work would need to be done to ensure that planned lower-level apartments receive an acceptable amount of daylight penetration, without affecting the public realm.