Battersea's seemingly cursed power station is once again for sale to the highest bidder after owners Real Estate Opportunities, after a full five years securing planning permission for an ambitious mixed-use development, is unable to find the £500m needed to repay debts. More here.

Chelsea eye Battersea power station [November 24, 2011]
Battersea Power Station - there's a "latest" [November 12, 2010]
Battersea Power Station saga latest [June 24, 2010]
Disappointing public opprobrium for Battersea's finest [March 23, 2010]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Wandsworth's three hotspots, according to the Telegraph:

These are the Nightingale Triangle, a trendy pocket of cottages and terraced houses near Balham and Clapham South tube stations; the so-called Toast Rack – a cluster of larger Victorian and Georgian houses located near the restaurant Chez Bruce, where a young Gordon Ramsay honed his skills; or The Tonsleys, an area of smaller houses close to Wandsworth Town train station. The last of these is where BBC One’s hit comedy Outnumbered is filmed.

And prices are - according to the piece - rising at particularly alarming rates, leaving anyone renting in the borough with the idea of swooping on a family home as soon as it hits the market  in a very expensive position.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Old Battersea House is a Grade II-lsted manor house in SW11, dates back to the 17th Century and was bought and painstakingly restored to its former glory (plus a few jacuzzis and saunas) by Malcolm Forbes (yeah, that Forbes) in the early 70s. Real Estalker lists Thatcher, the Reagans, Warren Buffet and Elizabeth Taylor, plus various Royals, as guests. Now, however, it seems the Forbes family no longer needs it, and the property's listed with Savills, guide price £12m.

If these walls could talk... Kylie edition [September 3, 2010]

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

The ongoing embarrassment that is south west London's historic Battersea Power Station site entered a new stage yesterday with council approval for a £5.5bn project, promising two new Northern Line tube stops, shops, office space and 3,400 new homes, 517 of which will be affordable housing. The original building will be protected (although the chimneys are apparently "beyond repair" and will need to be demolished and rebuilt). Interestingly, the plan includes using the chimneys and power plant to drive a green energy project, run by bio-fuel... which somehow manages to just add another layer of implausibility to a project that follows countless others that have ultimately come to nothing. We hope we're wrong... but I'm sure we're not alone in taking all this with a pinch of salt, especially in the current economic climate.

Read some background to the whole Battersea Power Station fiasco here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

Hats off to estate agents Marsh & Parsons for this innovative marketing initiative. Downloadable from the M&P website: three walking tours in the SWs (Balham, Clapham and Battersea), PDFs combing a map with interesting historical facts and illustrations, designed to take about an hour each. Drop into a the local branch to pick-up a free frisbee, and into partner cafes for a free cuppa. The tours are designed for potential buyers interested in the area... but probably work best for families looking for something to do at the weekend. Either way, Marsh & Parsons come away looking cool. "Love the area," they say. "We do." Download them here.

Technorati Tags: property, real estate

There's worry here that the curse of Battersea Power Station, a much-loved London landmark whose future has been kicked around like an old mutt for at least the last five years, might be about to strike again. Currently it's in the joint ownership of the glamorous playboy son of an Irish pig trader Johnny Ronan, whose local reputation is currently in tatters after the "Rumble in Ranelagh" saga, involving Ronan's girlfriend, her knee and his groin. And this is a man who could profit from paying a little attention to his business dealings. Treasury Holdings (the property company he co-owns) is profoundly tied into Dublin's stormy property market, and has substantial interests in China. (It's the belief of the Rat and Mouse that China's property market is about to implode in a way that will make America's recent problems look mild.) We should all own Battersea Power Station. For some background, go here.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

Back in September, we wondered where now for Battersea Power Station? Yesterday, the BBC attempted to answer.

Wandsworth Council have received a planning application for the £5.5m redevelopment of the 40-acre site.

Offices, shops, restaurants and no less than 3,700 homes. No details of the architect, or architecture.

Battersea Power Station... national treasure pillar to post [September 1, 2009]
Battersea Power Station plans... round... er... we've lost count [June 20, 2008]

Technorati Tags: architecture, London, property, real estate

The recent history of Batttersea Power Station has been nothing short of shameful. Waste, uncertainty, failure of leadership... it's been treated like a pawn in a politico-architectural game, and - as you can imagine - the recession isn't helping. The latest owners, Real Estate Opportunities, are said to have been dealt a very serious blow by the state of the Irish property market. According to the Guardian:

Its auditors warned that there are "material uncertainties" about the business as a going concern.

Where now?

Battersea Power Station plans... round... er... we've lost count [June 20, 2008]

Technorati Tags: architecture, design, London, property, real estate

The latest? A £4bn mixed-use plan, including homes for 7,000 people, due to start in 2012, ready by 2020. Details include 8m square feet of office space, shops and residential property, plus a six-acre public park, a new, 300 metre glass and steel chimney, and the world's largest solar-powered aircon system. Despite this...

"Once we have planning consent, we will have no shortage of interested parties who will want to come on board,'' said Rob Tincknell, managing director of Real Estate Opportunities' development manager, Treasury Holdings U.K.

... the details have been received with not inconsiderable skepticism, and - taking into account the site's recent history and the current economic climate - the Rat and Mouse isn't surprised. More here.

Breaking news - Vinoly wins Battersea Power Station contract [April 4, 2007]
Battersea Power Station: a scandal of waste [February 2, 2007]
Thursday afternoon linkage - DIY in ICU [November 30, 2006]
Battersea Power Station - fake chimneys [July 7, 2006

Technorati Tags: architecture, design, London, property, real estate

I am immediately conscious of my pink bag and purple skirt, which shout vulgarity in the harmony of grey, black and white. Only a hint of red is allowed in each room, in a cushion or a rug.

The Sunday Telegraph carried this very entertaining tour of some minimalist masterpieces, including a Victorian mansion block flat (pictured) in Battersea... all original features concealed behind white fake walls and a wipe clean floor... and a south London semi which isn't pure minimalism (it has colour) but it works on the principle of hidden storage and is described as "monastic". Visiting the Battersea house, the writer leans how it was designed to cater for a utilitarian principle... carefully measured distances between (stored) appliances in the kitchen that reflect their use. It's Steve Jobs' Apple Mac workflow principle on a domestic scale. It's a theory I've always tried to sell to my wife, when extolling Bauhaus (my own frustrated enthusiasm). But - I don't know - it doesn't sound that convenient:

Even making a cup of tea isn't a simple matter: "I know I am a Minimalist freak," says Tanji. She opens a cupboard, gets out the kettle, fills it, plugs it in, makes the tea, then empties it, unplugs it and puts it back in the cupboard. For there must be no clutter.

Head over to the link above for the original piece, complete with pictures. Interestingly, all the properties mentioned are for sale. The Battersea flat is with John D Wood, here.

Technorati Tags: design, London, property, real estate

The Telegraph takes a tour of celebrity cake meister Eric Lanlard's modern Battersea home. Lanlard's the man behind Madonna's wedding cake and Brooklyn Beckham's first birthday cake. The apartment, all glass and steel and timber, packs a white grand piano, a specially made deep purple carpet and a hot tub. Go here, for the details, and pictures.

Technorati Tags: celebrity, London, property, real estate

Two 39-storey residential towers containing 500 homes are part of the £400m plans to revamp Clapham Junction station. If you want to have a look, head over to shopping centre before Saturday, or (even better) click this with the button on your mouse.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The Telegraph takes an interesting tour of some of London's cinema redevelopments... lovely old (often) listed "picture houses" that are being turned - for good or ill - into housing or commercial premises. The piece focuses on Henley Homes' remarkable plans for the Granada Odeon in Clapham. The building is - thankfully - heavily protected. From the Telegraph:

"It would be nice if the old auditorium could be turned into a local theatre," says Tariq Usmani, director of Henley Homes. "Or it might be turned into a health club, but whatever happens to it the period features, including the seats, have to be retained, although these could be hidden or moved. They just cannot be destroyed."

When I read this, the first thing I thought - being naturally facetious - was... hey, why not turn it into a cinema?

And then I read this:

Henley Homes has decided not to clean up the brickwork, but will leave it as it is and, as a nod to its former use, will create a private 12-seater cinema on the second floor of the development for residents' use only.

It's a mad, mad world. The plans for the development are extraordinary... a self-supported glass box (it's to be called "Lumiere") right on the top, containing some of the 59 planned apartments.

For more about the UK's old cinemas, go here. And you can find some before and after pictures of another south London Odeon conversion here and here.

Technorati Tags: architecture, design, London, property, real estate

According to the estate agents interviewed in the Telegraph, forget Starbucks, forget Waitrose, it's the individual organic deli that does most for neighbourhood house prices. And they're cropping up in the unlikeliest places. Battersea High Street has seen house prices rise as organic pasta has distracted house hunters from the council estate. And delis have been seen cropping up in Stoke Newington Church Street and West Hampstead. Clearly there's an organic-free-range-chicken-and-organic-free-range-egg conundrum here; but property spotters take note nonetheless. The piece ends with a nice selection of properties for the greedy, none more than a few minutes away from a farmer's market or deli.

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

The Telegraph visits Polish banker Zbigniew Stradowski in his Montevetro penthouse, and listens to him criticise Richard Rogers. it's a strange attitude... pay a small fortune for an iconic Battersea landmark, then completely gut and re-fit it because Rogers apparently got it wrong. Go here to admire an admittedly impressive job, including... wait for it... a "65in high- definition plasma screen in the living room - the biggest currently on the market, Stradowski proudly points out". Hah... beat that, Rogers.

Technorati Tags: architecture, design, interiors, London, property, real estate

Walkie-talkie tower architect Rafael Vinoly beat off Fosters and SOM to oversee the latest version of south London's biggest ever vapour-development. More here.

Battersea Power Station: a scandal of waste [February 2, 2007]

Technorati Tags: architecture, design, London

Building Design reports on the latest chapter in arguably south London planning's longest-running fiasco. Remember how excited we got when we learnt of the ambitious, joined-up plans, developed over 13 years, that Parkview had put together for the Battersea Power Station site? Well, new owners, Treasury, clearly weren't as excited, since they've secretly decided to start afresh, refusing to meet West 8, Ron Arad & Associates or Benson & Forsyth, even though their involvement in the Parkview master plan was well advanced (to the point of planning approval). In the meantime, they've been meeting new architects, but only ones who've agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement:

A source at one leading firm which decided against taking part in the contest said it was asked to sign a confidentiality agreement even before learning it was for Battersea.

Friendly. Battersea Power Station's too important a London landmark for this kind of foolishness. Are Wandsworth Council and English Heritage really as powerless as they seem in the face of private sector muscle?

Technorati Tags: London, property, real estate

As further details of the ambitious and exciting Battersea Power Station development are revealed, am I alone in feeling a little sad that - no matter how cool it eventually looks - we'll all know, deep down, the sheep's legs aren't really its own?

[via Telegraph]

Battersea Power Station - good on the inside too [July 5, 2005]
It's happening in Battersea [January 31, 2005]

Piggy-backing on London's Olympic success, could there finally be enough momentum to follow through on this ambitious plan to redevelop my favorite London Landmark, Sir Gilbert Scott's awesome Battersea Power Station.

This mouldering hulk is big enough, according to the Guardian, to sit 2.5 million people down to dinner. Then again, who wants to rub shoulders with the riff-raff? Personally, I would prefer to skim up the river in a speed boat, under the elegant footbridge they are planning, then shoot straight up to the single dining room that is going to sit atop one of the power station's four chimmneys (the chimney in question completely reconstructed to withstand my considerable bulk). Power lunching with 360 degree views over some of London's most expensive real estate - that's Rat and Mouse heaven.

It's happening in Battersea
Battersea Power Station, good on the inside too

Thanks to Londonist for pointing out these amazing images from inside Battersea Power Station, over at the BBC website. Imagine this... patterned marble floors, wood features... it looks more like a 1930s Manhattan hotel than a place that manufactures power. And keep clicking through for creepy images of the remnants from the workers' final tea-break - tupperware, a hard hat and a Daily Mail, frozen in time like a museum exhibit.

It's happening in Battersea [Jan 31]