Battersea Power Station Chimneys To Come Down?

The Battersea Power Station was turned into a international pop-art icon by Storm Thorgerson of Hipgnosis when he and a team of photographers used it as a centerpiece (along with the large helium-filled flying pig balloon) for the cover of Pink Floyd's 1977 album, Animals.

Recent news articles indicate that the wrecking ball of change has started swinging to bring the chimneys down. The stated goal is to demolish the chimneys (citing structural instability) and then rebuild them. In order to understand the entire issue, it should be noted that the developer, Parkview International, is based in the British Virgin Islands and is outside the reach of the Wandsworth Council should there be needs for legal recourse during the renovation. This means that the plans to demolish the chimneys as they exist now and rebuild them could very well stop with their demolition and nothing could be done to force the developer to rebuild. Some are suggesting that demolishing the chimneys is the first step in demolishing the entire structure, preparing the site for luxury condos the developer plans to build.

There are a couple community groups who follow the status of the planning on the property. You may want to check out Battersea Power Station Community Group or The Brain-Damage.co.uk Campaign to save Battersea Power Station.

More information on Pink Floyd.

More information on Storm Thorgerson.

Flickr photos tagged with 'battersea' (Most Popular)

If you'd like to keep track of the chimneys' current status you can take a peek via this live cam of London. (Someone post a comment if you notice the chimneys are missing between the London Eye and Big Ben in the background.)