Battersea’s power is community

Since our Malaysian shareholders acquired the site and we started the project a decade ago, the world and the London market have changed immensely.

With the past two years having been so difficult for everybody, I think developers, the construction industry and, in particular, our team at Battersea have handled the huge challenges that we’ve faced with amazing resilience.

Everyone working at Battersea Power Station can be very proud of their contribution. Thanks to the dedication of thousands of talented people who have worked around the clock to make up for lost time, we are about to deliver one of the capital’s largest and most exciting new neighbourhoods.

We have been very fortunate to benefit from the extensive experience our shareholders have of mixed-use developments and their objective to engage with and ensure the existing community benefits from their investment. Single ownership of the estate aligned with a thoughtful vision has enabled us to bring Battersea Power Station to life with positive social and community impact at its heart.

The ‘halo effect’ of regeneration is often overlooked. Now more than ever before, we’re focused on how local communities can benefit from investment, jobs and cultural interventions across generations.

We’re proud to have invested more than £6m into local charities and communities, while more than a third of employees live locally. Some 20,000 jobs will ultimately be created across the development when it is fully open, with 5,000 of those jobs coming to life this year alone.

But not every initiative has to be large to be really impactful – for example, the Battersea Power Station Community choir was founded in 2016 and now has 100 members performing regularly and bringing great happiness to many.

The positive economic impact of large-scale London developments resonates throughout the UK as well as locally. Almost every part of the country has contributed to, and benefited from, our project – from sprinklers produced in the West Midlands, to steel from the North East, walls made in Northern Ireland and more than a million handmade bricks sourced from the original brickmaker in Gloucestershire.

Infrastructure benefits

Proximity to transport is a defining factor in whether destinations succeed or fail. We contributed £300m towards the Northern Line Extension (NLE), the first new London tube line in 22 years, which opened last September. Without it, there would be no mixed-use Battersea Power Station scheme, and without the scheme there would have been no funding solution for the NLE. The local population is directly benefiting from this transformational infrastructure as well as the jobs and homes it is bringing.

There is no community without the people behind it, and the benefits of locating residential and workspace alongside other uses is an important factor in building vibrant places.

There has been strong residential demand across sales as well as lettings, and this is evidenced by the fact that our first phase, Circus West, is fully occupied with huge demand for rental property.

In 2021 alone, we sold more than £400m of new homes largely to UK-based buyers. We’re experiencing a growing trend of buyers moving from traditional London enclaves to thriving destinations with culture and community at their core, as well as others of all ages being drawn back to London for the rich experiences it offers.

Destinations will continue to evolve and innovate to reflect changing consumer needs, but those that invest in community and experience will be the ones that capture the public’s imagination.

That’s something we will have in abundance at Battersea Power Station and we can’t wait to welcome you all through the doors in late summer.

Simon Murphy is chief executive of Battersea Power Station Development Company