Historic chimneys to be rebuilt

The Grade II listed station has been earmarked for redevelopment

Battersea Power Station's historic chimneys are to be knocked down and rebuilt, at a cost of about £10m, after a report found they were corroding.

Wandsworth Council approved plans to take down the four chimneys, with legal safeguards to ensure they are rebuilt.

The station, a popular London landmark on the south bank of the Thames, is at the centre of a £1.1bn redevelopment.

Developers Parkview plan to knock down the chimneys next spring and rebuild them during the summer.

Parkview said they would replace the chimneys with exact replicas - it is backed by English Heritage which says it is the best way to preserve them.

INSIDE BATTERSEA See rare views of the derelict power station site Battersea picture special

But instead of the steel used in the current reinforcements, which is corroding, stainless steel will be used in the new chimneys.

The developers have been asked to deposit money in a bank so if they cannot finish rebuilding the chimneys, the council can use the funds to do so.

The Grade II listed power station, designed by James Theodore Halliday and Sir Giles Gilbert Scott - creator of the red telephone box - is one of Europe's biggest brick buildings.

Built in 1933, it has been left to decay since it shut more than 20 years ago.

Popular landmark

Now the 38-acre site is to be turned into a huge entertainment, shopping and accommodation complex by 2009.

The Battersea Power Station Community Group has said the station, one of London's most popular landmarks, would be nothing without the original chimneys.

Chairman Brian Barnes said: "We don't believe making replicas is the same as repairing the structures. It's an icon of London and they are disrespecting it and they do not care about it."

English Heritage has said it was "keen to ensure the historic fabric of this Grade II listed national landmark is repaired and restored as soon as possible".