Battersea Power Station plans consultation begins

As part of the plans a public viewing platform will be built on one of the chimneys

People are being urged to give their views on plans to restore and redevelop Battersea Power Station into shops and homes.

The 39-acre site by the River Thames in south London will be redeveloped into 3,500 homes, offices, shops and a park.

The first phase, which will see the vacant Grade II*-listed power station and its chimneys restored, is expected to be completed by 2016.

The detailed plans will be on display at an exhibition until Sunday.

After the exhibition closes, the details and a feedback form will be available online for another two weeks.

The building has been vacant since being decommissioned in 1983 and features on English Heritage's At Risk register.

'Visual drama'

The Malaysian consortium behind the project - comprising of S P Setia, Sime Darby and the Employees Provident Fund, estimates it will take 10 years to complete the project.

The designs for the site, based on the Rafael Vinoly master plan, was approved by Wandsworth Borough Council in August 2011.

Under the proposals, the power station will open to the public permanently from 2019 and a public viewing platform will be built at the top of the north-west chimney.

Rob Tincknell, chief executive officer for Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: "We feel that what we are proposing retains and respects the integrity of this historic landmark whilst also creating vibrant living, working and recreational space that this part of London needs."

Jim Eyre, director of Wilkinson Eyre Architects, said: "It was important to us to retain the Power Station's sense of scale and visual drama, which is achieved through design features such as the full-height glass void behind the southern wall and the vast, central atrium."

A consultation has opened into new plans for Battersea Power Station

The site will be redeveloped into 3,500 homes, offices, shops and a park

Under the plans, the power station will open to the public permanently from 2019

The proposals include a public viewing platform at the top of a chimney

The first phase is expected to be completed by 2016