33,000 jobs at power station

Wednesday, 01 August 2012

By James Cracknell

PLANS to redevelop Battersea Power station – three decades after it closed –will bring 33,000 new jobs to South London, say its owners.

Work on the the £6billion project, which will see the iconic riverside landmark turned into 3,400 homes, could start as early as next summer.

The power station’s Malaysian owners, who bought the site less than a month ago, say they will go ahead with plans given planning permission by Wandsworth council in 2010.

The Malaysian consortia, including SP Setia, Sime Darby and the Employees Pension Fund of Malaysia, made the announcement on Wednesday before helping to launch a huge international trade conference yesterday.

The news came on the same day that reports showed the UK economy had slipped further into recession – a third quarter of negative growth being blamed on a slump in the construction industry. It prompted fresh calls for Chancellor George Osborne to resign over his failure to marshal in growth.

The consortia say the power station project will create 20,000 construction jobs and 13,000 permanent jobs.

As it was announced, London Mayor Boris Johnson said: “It’s brilliant this historic landmark that helped power London for the 20th century will be at the centre of this huge regeneration project, that will also power the capital to economic prosperity in the 21st.”

But The Battersea Power Station Community Group, which has been involved in a 29-year campaign to restore Europe’s largest brick building, remains sceptical.

Group member Keith Garner said: “I’ve heard it all before. “I have lost count of how many times.

“Given the history of failure, why should I believe this will be any different?”

Mr Garner said a revival of the scheme first proposed by previous owners Real Estate Opportunities, before they admitted defeat last year, would not be welcomed by local people.

He added: “Anyone can build luxury flats on the banks of the River Thames.

“This is just a private scheme for city workers.”

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