battersea power station a new creative energy for …...page 2 page 3 our vision for battersea power...

BatterseaPower StationA New CreativeEnergy for London

Our vision for Battersea Power Station is to provide a modern, cosmopolitan new creative district for London, establishing the historic Power Station as the centre of an exciting new hub for culture and creativity in Britain.

We believe that this most individual of sites deserves a distinctive, world-class scheme, which harnesses two of the UK’s most valuable resources, culture and creativity, to help define this new district for London. Our aim is to lay the foundations for a 21st century, urban place that applies culture and creativity to the blueprint for the next chapter in the history of one of the world’s most iconic buildings: Battersea Power Station.

Our fundamental belief, that it is creativity which drives progress and economic growth, has led us to produce a strategy which will place creative industry and culture at the

heart of Battersea Power Station – and will be a core part of our business plan. This will be steered by the robust governance model which we have in place to ensure that every aspect of the development celebrates creativity and culture.

Battersea Power Station will offer a vibrant mix. There will be studios and offices, integrated with exhibition, gallery and performance space, specifically aimed at the creative industries. We are firmly committed to supporting the UK’s push towards a knowledge economy. In building the UK’s first Graduate Centre For Creative Excellence the scheme will provide graduates with a platform into industry – a base from which to showcase the best of their output and to incubate entrepreneurial creative businesses. Corporate media and creative organisations will share a home with the fresh talent that supports them.

An ambitious programme of public visual art exhibitions and installations, a sculpture park and performance areas will animate the site alongside markets, cinemas and a world class convention zone and concert hall.

We are committed to making culture and creativity the starting-point of our whole place-making strategy, from bins to buildings. By embedding innovative thinking and cultural values into everything we do, we aim to create a dynamic, new Creative District for London, and in turn, Battersea Power Station will become synonymous with London’s cultural identity. It will be a place in which culture and creativity sit comfortably side by side with business and commerce, a place where creativity can develop and ideas grow into reality.

The following pages will help to convey our strategy.

Rob TincknellManaging Director, Treasury Holdings

Our Vision‘The creative industries lead the UK economy and are the envy of the world. I genuinely believe that the UK’s pre-eminence in arts and culture constitutes one of the nation’s most powerful natural resources.’ — Kevin Spacey

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Contents Page

Introduction

Cultural Context

UK Arts Graduate Centre

Creative Cluster

The Boiler House Creative Convention Centre

Venue Zone

Urban Gallery – Public Art Programme

The Turbine Project Space

Turbine Market

Making it happen

Governance model

The Wider Picture: Government Policy

The Build-Up Creative Programme

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Battersea Power StationA New Creative Energy for London

The Red Bull X Fighters at The Freestyle Motocross Championship, 2009.

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Battersea Power Station is an icon; it is an essential part of London. Born through innovation and the need to power the city, once it was a symbol of industrial Britain. Steeped in history, it will again become a symbol – this time an engine for Britain’s new culture and creativity. A 21st century place like no other, built on a mix of cutting edge architecture, heritage and culture. Battersea Power Station will become the creative District for London.

Creativity and culture are a core part of our business strategy to make Battersea Power Station a place that stands out from its peers. This vision is vital to Battersea Power Station. It is a huge site in the middle of a vast regeneration zone tied up with decades of social and political activism – and it is with this notion of past and present in mind that we have formed the vision for the future of Battersea Power Station. This vision is not a fantasy. It’s based on hard-nosed business facts. Since 1998, growth in the creative industries has out-performed almost every other industrial sector in the UK’s economy. These industries have been one of the

key drivers of the economy in the first decade of the new millennium, earning over £57 billion a year. It contributes 6.4% to the UK’s GVA (Gross Value Added) and has increased employment at roughly twice the rate of the wider economy since 19971. In London, they are the third largest business sector, employing over half a million people and providing one in five new jobs. London is home to a world-leading culture and arts scene, the world’s fourth largest advertising sector, the third largest music market, and is an acknowledged global centre for fashion2. It is through an understanding of the synergies between creativity and commerce, culture and sustainability that we will make our vision a reality – a reality in which culture is led and animated by creative industries such as music, design, fashion, software, architecture and the arts.

Office, residential, retail, services, public space, even utilities, all have to exist in a coherent, vibrant, cultural mix to attract the best businesses, shops, residents and visitors. Battersea Power Station will become many things to many

people: a home, a workplace, a destination, but it is through exploiting culture, driven by human creativity that it will become not only distinctive, but also unique and unforgettable.

The importance of the cultural and creative industries is far from just the revenue they earn directly, it’s the buzz they create that enriches a place, attracting people and businesses from across all sectors. Battersea Power Station will be a great place to live, work, visit, and at the same time spark innovation and talent through creative industry. These are exciting times for Nine Elms. Its redevelopment will bring with it a new connectivity to central London with the Power Station as the centre of a new district defined from the outset by an identity based around seven key creative features outlined in the following pages.

We hope these outlines will leave you seeing Battersea Power Station, one of the boldest landmark’s on the London skyline, as an exciting project, committed to creativity and vibrant culture, that you’ll want to be a part of.

Introduction‘The success of London’s creative sector is partly due to the calibre of graduate talent coming out of our colleges and universities but also the city’s reputation as an international centre for creativity. London attracts creative professionals from around the globe’ — Munira Mirza, Director of Arts and Culture Policy for the Mayor of London

The cover of Pink Floyd’s Animals album, 1976.

1 www.culture.gov.uk/images/research/Creative_Industries_Economic_Estimates_Jan_09.pdf2 www.thinklondon.com, “10 key facts about London’s creative industries”

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The Battersea area is already fast becoming a cultural hotbed. Building on an established heritage Battersea Power Station will add to these evolving cultural activities and creative industries, acting as a catalyst to foster even greater creativity and culture in the area. Battersea Power Station will build on the foundations already in place to become one of the premier cultural and creative quarters of London.

Battersea Arts Centre is just up the hill; The Royal Academy of Art’s Sculpture and Painting schools, Vivienne Westwood’s Studios, Theatre 503 and the Royal Academy of Dance are all within easy walking distance across Battersea Park which itself is home to the Pump House Gallery. Just over the river in Chelsea you can walk to the Saatchi gallery, The Royal Court Theatre, The National Army Museum, Chelsea Physic

Garden and The Royal Hospital – home of Chelsea Flower Show. Norman Foster has his world headquarters here in Battersea at Ransome’s Dock alongside a cluster of architectural and design practices and media agencies including architect Will Alsop and Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment. When you look at Battersea Power Station in this context it is easy to see why it is a natural home for The New Creative District for London.

Cultural context

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ROYAL COLLEGE OF ART SCULPTURESCHOOL

Genée International Ballet Competition Gold Medallist, Claudia Dean, Royal Academy of Dance. Photo: Tan Ngiap Heng, 2009.

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The centre will provide arts graduate students from the top institutions nationally with a platform into industry, whilst providing a centrally located hub from which to harness future talent. This will encourage cross-disciplinary projects and establish Battersea Power Station as the natural home for the UK’s creative sector.

There is a clear opportunity and need for this facility. Despite London’s position as world leader in this area, the UK does not have a centre of excellence specifically designed to showcase and promote the impressive output of our arts colleges and universities. Academic Institutions are increasingly linking with the private sector and the creative industries are realising the benefits of working with education, particularly the links with new talent and innovative research.

The graduate centre, will take the form of studios, exhibition space and workshops to promote and support new designers, artists and other creative graduates. Trade Fairs, an artists’ studio programme, innovation centres and a residency programme for students, graduates and alumni are all envisaged supporting graduates in their goal of artistic excellence.

The UKAGC will:

Establish a social network of connected individuals to enliven and dynamise Battersea Power Station Attract key cultural institutions outside the university sector, from museums and galleries to sponsors and stakeholders Bring high profile visual and performing arts institutions to Battersea Provide a model for creative industry Provide a one stop shop for the best of the UK arts talent Identify and nurture the next generation of cultural entrepreneurs Enable high profile partnerships between UK universities Create strong links between the commercial and university sectors.

Establishing a creative place:

— The centre will be guided by an expert advisory group to ensure that the facility is best suited to those who will be using it.

— The centre may seek the support of a major corporate sponsor

— The centre may seek local, regional and national Government funding

Context at a glance:

— There are 75 institutions throughout the UK that offer Art and Design courses with 23 offering post graduate level courses.3

— Courses range from the highly specialist, such as Central School of Speech and Drama’s or Rose Bruford College’s costume making undergraduate degrees, to the world famous, such as the Royal College of Arts’ Vehicle Design MA.

— The Daily Telegraph noted that every vehicle design house in the world employed at least one RCA graduate from their Vehicle Design MA.4

— Free Range is currently Europe’s largest graduate art and design showcase, exhibiting the work of designers and artists in UK education. Run each summer and centred around July’s annual student graduation, it attracts over 150,000 visitors per year for its 8 week run5

UK Arts Graduate Centre The UK Arts Graduate centre (UKAGC) will act as a showcase of the best artistic output from across the UK.

Royal Academy of Arts Gallery, part of the St James’ Homes development at New River Village, Hornsey. Photo: Futurecity, 2006.

3 www.ucas.ac.uk4 www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/2723085/The-art-of-design.html5 www.free-range.org.uk/cgi-bin/index.pl?yearID=13

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The creative cluster will be situated on the third floor of the Battersea Power Station looking out onto the Turbine Halls beneath them. It will provide striking and interactive workspaces for creative businesses – in which businesses have an interface with their peer, collaborators and clients. By situating these businesses in close proximity with one another synergies between them will be encouraged – sparking ideas and creating networks, resulting in an exciting, stimulating and productive place to work.

This will be a workplace first and foremost for creative industries – an ever expanding sector. Industries such as film, music or the arts, will work alongside advertising, computer and video games, publishing, and software.

To create this cluster, the Battersea Power Station site will:

— Provide world class digital connectivity

— Use flexible design to allow the mix of businesses to evolve in response to business growth, cyclical economic change, and commercial viability.

— House small or ‘lower value’ creative businesses (for example individual artists and designer-makers) on flexible terms,as part of an incubation programme. Smaller businesses will help to provide a sustainable mix for the site that will help draw larger businesses.

Establishing a creative placeThe creative industries are a major part of the UK economy and have been designated a priority sector by national Government and London for over ten years. Their collaborative working styles are well suited to co-location, and are typically associated with character- filled settings such as Battersea Power Station. The creative workforce is usually seen as enthusiastic users of cultural facilities, markets and specialist retail and are therefore a good fit with the mix of uses at Battersea Power Station. At 121,000 sq. ft the Creative Cluster is much larger than many of the famous regenerated historic buildings that now house clusters of small creative businesses (and in particular artists and designer-makers. This creates an opportunity to mix the more mature market with exciting smaller firms.

Context at a glance:

Incubated businesses have an average success rate of 98% compared to a national average of less than 50%6

Studies show that creative industries cluster where there is a critical mass of other strong cultural and creative provision, and the concentration of human capital.7

The redevelopment of Salford has been underpinned with two large-scale cultural assets: The Lowry Centre and The Imperial War Museum North. Retail, commercial, residential and transport infrastructure have moved in since these buildings were completed. The BBC is currently completing a major re-location to Salford. Mediacity:UK will house over 2,500 BBC staff and 2,500 workers in other creative businesses from 2011. London has a large number of creative business incubators, and informal clusters such as the Chocolate Factory (Haringey), Westbourne Studios (Kensington & Chelsea), The Truman Brewery (Tower Hamlets) and the Chelsea Harbour Design Centre (Hammersmith & Fulham)

Creative Cluster An exciting and dynamic workspace for creative businesses, helping them forge new networks and develop innovation.

Heart-shaped installation organised by Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre, part of the London Night Hike, 2009.

6 www.ukbi.co.uk/index.asp?SID=2227 Lazzeretti, Boix and Francesco Capone, Why do creative industries cluster? An analysis of the determinants of clustering of creative industries : Institut d’Estudis Regionals i Metropolitans de Barcelona, 2009 http://iermb.uab.es/RePEc/doc/wpierm0902.pdf

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The Boiler House will offer the complete experience: beginning on arrival at the hugely imposing north chimneys, situated metres from the Thames. The space is flexibly designed with the main conference hall capable of subdivision and even the foyers able to be adapted to host events.

At the heart of the 170,000 sq. ft conference and events centre will be a main conference hall beneath a sinking single span roof of 41,000 sq. ft accommodating 1,500 people for banqueting, 2,500 for conferences and around 3,000 for standing events. Alongside this The Boiler House at Battersea will offer a suite of meeting rooms suitable for a range of uses.

The sheer scale and iconic nature of the Grade II* listed building draws people in and is likely to act as a magnet for high profile activities such as design expositions and fashion events as well as a unique venue for the worlds international associations and prestigious corporate brands.

The range of cultural and commercial events that can be accommodated at the Boiler House will animate Battersea Power Station and further the natural synergies between events, culture, hospitality and hotel facilities on site.

Establishing a creative place

The convention centre will help to animate Battersea Power Station year-round and bring in a range of international and London events that add to its profile.

It will complement the venue and turbine hall and market, adding to the day-time economy of the site and providing opportunities for activities which work alongside the other venues (for instance, a music industry trade fair alongside evening entertainment in the venue or a large-scale cookery event alongside a food market)Delegates and visitors will make use of hotel, hospitality and cultural facilities on-site.

Context at a glance

London hosts between 15-20% of all UK events generating revenues in excess of £1.6billion Only 2% of the existing conference provision in London is capable of accommodating over 2,000 people Only 11% of the total conference provision in London is purpose built. Treasury Holdings’ Convention Centre Dublin (open from September 2010) is set to boost the Irish economy by !71.4m with over 200,000 international delegate days confirmed. Based on research by Fáilte Ireland, with 35 scheduled events and over 150 options, The CCD will help support Ireland’s business tourism goal of !1bn by 2013.

The Boiler House Creative Convention Centre The Boiler House at Battersea will be a state of the art purpose-built event and conference facility occupying a prime location within the former boiler house of Battersea Power Station.

‘Returning’ by Peregrine Heathcote

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A venue for everything and everyone, Battersea Power Station has been the backdrop to many moments in modern cultural history and it will continue to be, but on an even greater scale. The Venue Zone will be a world class flexible performing arts venue capable of holding landmark events in London and Europe’s cultural calendar – from music, to dance, circus, theatrical events and spectaculars.

This will aim to be a legendary cultural venue which will build on the enviable heritage of Battersea Power Station, and bring to life what Pink Floyd, Morrissey, The Orb and every music fan knows: the natural home for heart-stopping performances is a jaw-dropping venue.

The venue will be capable of seated and standing events, with the flexibility to reconfigure for events in the round, thrust,

proscenium or any relationship between performers and audience. The dynamism this generates will make it the centre for innovative, exciting live arts and music.


The venue at Battersea Power Station will be the hub of the creative district’s night time economy.

Events produced here will provide many of the signature moments and images which will both provide experiences in their own right, and communicate the vitality of the district to be marketed globally.

The venue will complement many of the ancillary businesses that a vibrant venue supports (not just bars, cafes and restaurants, but transport services, and merchandisers) and related sectors such as tourism and retail.

Context at a glance

The live music sector is the fastest growing part of the music industry. It is now the biggest employer in the sector, employing 44,000 people and has overtaken recorded music in terms of revenue, worth £1.4 bn. in 2008.8

In 2008 primary ticket sales for music events (including festivals) grew by 13% to £905 million, secondary tickets grew by 4% to £149 million and ancillary revenues grew by 18% to £338m.8

In 2008 The Society of London Theatres announced a record year with West End play attendance at 13,892,4609

London has a proud record or turning landmark buildings into great arts spaces. The Roundhouse in Camden was renovated from a converted railway shed and like Battersea Power Station shares a heritage in performing arts.

Venue Zone A major new concert and events space, the centrepiece of Battersea Power Station’s night time economy: A new venue zone for a new era of performing arts.

Cirque du Soleil performers use the enormity of Battersea Power Station as the backdrop for their ninth production, Quidam, 2001.

8 Page & Carey. Economic Insight 15 – Adding Up The Music Industry for 2008, PRS for Music, 2009. www.prsformusic.com/creators/news/research/Pages/default.aspx 9 Summary of SOLT Box Office Data Report 2008 www.solt.co.uk/about/data.html

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Public art at Battersea Power Station will establish and define its open spaces as a creative and cultural destination. It will excite the area, helping residents, workers and visitors feel a sense of place and engagement with the whole site. The two proposed components, the Sculpture Park and the Embedded Arts Programme, will work together to form a continuous strand of art across the site making Battersea Power Station a truly creative destination.

Embedded Arts Programme

At Battersea Power Station, art will be a part of the development’s physical structure. The Embedded Arts Programme, or ‘Bins to Buildings’, will encompass the design and manufacture of all external materials; influencing the way finding, street furniture, infrastructure and architecture of the site.

A linear gallery concept will promote movement through the site along a defined cultural route, each aspect and work encouraging the public to engage with the space in anticipation of what sights the next building may hold.

Artists will be invited to produce and present new works to enhance and enrich these journeys, delivering

a high calibre contemporary art programme that directly responds to the audience and unique environment of the development. This approach will create distinctive, bespoke design in the public realm in a process that can work on all levels, from macro to micro.

Sculpture Park

Surprisingly, London currently has no permanent sculpture park. Through commissioning anchor pieces from a range of high calibre recognised artists, and hosting touring exhibitions of sculpture and installations, the proposed Sculpture Park will provide a series of connected points, routes and trails around the site using public art to link aspects of the Power Station’s heritage, parks and riverside site; offering possibilities for play and recreation.

Work can be shown inside and outside the Power Station making use of the turbine halls, retail areas and a range of in-door exhibition spaces, in a sculpture trail that will provide a ‘gallery without walls’ which will form a permanent display that makes full use of the river setting as well as the park spaces and water areas around the site. The Sculpture Park will become a destination in itself.


The public art programme will:— Give Battersea Power Station a

unique visual identity and help to animate the development.

— Help establish Battersea Power Station as a creative district.

— Help navigation and way-finding – art helps people to understand their way around the development and feel more at ease there.

— Encourage social interaction – providing a talking point and enlivening the public spaces.

Context at a glance

— Public art can add significant value to a development. Millennium Park, Chicago has significant innovative public sculpture and has seen an estimated $1.4 billion uplift in the adjacent residential real estate market, and increased hotel, restaurant and retail revenues of over $1.5 billion10

— Federation Square, Melbourne, was conceived to integrate art with the design of the space, to initiate creative collaborations and produce new public artworks and events.11

Urban gallery – public art programme A public art programme running throughout the site, including proposals for London’s first major sculpture park surrounded by an embedded arts programme.

Battersea Power Station flooded with a butterfly projection for the Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) children’s charity.

10 The Planning Report, June 2007 www.planningreport.com/tpr/?module=displaystory&story_id=1248&format=html 11 Federation Square – A Case Study In Architectural Design www.business.vic.gov.au/busvicwr/_assets/main/lib60040/05_federation_square.pdf

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A world class programme of art

The massive Turbine Hall B will support a rich programme of art, encompassing bespoke work and major touring exhibitions. This is a response to current trends in the art world towards flexible curate-able space; and also to the inspiring ‘blank canvas’ of the Turbine Hall itself.

The Project Space will establish its own ‘character’ that is sufficiently different from established London art venues to become a must-see attraction in its own right. An experienced international curator will impose their vision on the space or a 3rd party organisation may operate the Gallery adding a breadth of in-house expertise and contacts, as well as significant marketing clout and legitimacy to the proposal.

The Project Space will be a space for the public – open to anyone. Using the scale and heritage of the Power Station as its backdrop the Project space will be a cultural destination, but also a route through the power station, to the river and beyond.


The programme of installations within this space will bring leading international artists to Battersea Power Station and ensure that the site is a high profile cultural destination. It will generate substantial numbers of visitors helping animate Battersea Power Station year-round and providing custom and audiences for the retail, hospitality and cultural facilities.

Context at a glance

— Londoners are the most enthusiastic attenders of art in the UK, with 29% attending visual arts exhibitions every year, and 9%12 (some 570,000) attending at least three times per year13

— Unilever has sponsored the Tate Modern Turbine Hall since Tate Modern opened in 2000. In 2007, Unilever announced that it will extend its sponsorship until 2012

— In 2007 Tate announced that 17 million visitors had seen the Unilever Series to date.

— Palais De Tokyo in Paris is a contemporary art museum that uses ‘blank space’ to great effect – it looks new, modern and up- to-date, an impression supported by frequent cutting edge exhibitions that change regularly.

The Turbine Project Space A major new international art space: a flagship arts project for the development.

Tate Modern Turbine Hall. Unilever Series: The Weather Project, Olafur Eliasson, 2003.

12 From indifference to enthusiasm: patterns of arts attendance in England, April 2008 www.artscouncil.org.uk/publication_archive/from-indifference-to-enthusiasm-patterns-of-arts-attendance-in-england13 Taking Part in London, Headline findings May 2007 http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/media/uploads/London.pdf

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An urban market offering a rolling programme of events and stalls, such as high end food, farmers produce, crafts, new design, art and antiques. The market will be situated in sited in Turbine Hall A – a hugely imposing ornate Art Deco space.

— The central market space will contain temporary pitches that can be moved and adapted according to the market format and number of traders.

— The central market space will be flanked by shop fronts with long-term traders with the market promoting an interesting mix of new businesses attracting new customers. A diverse and interesting retail mix will produce a more sustainable long-term offering.

— Links with local partners will help establish the market as a community facility which will expand market provision in Wandsworth. There is the potential to develop relationships with neighbouring businesses such as New Covent Garden Market. The venue will become a ‘Cultural Market’ becoming as much an entertainment destination as a retail facility which will work to complement permanent traders on the site.

— There will be a clearly define Market Events strategy with regularly changing events aimed at attracting a wide range of visitors. These are targeted at both the local community and visitors to the area.

— The market will have a clearly defined visual identity and clear urban design clues to help legibility – encouraging passers by to visit the space.


— Markets are an effective way to animate public space and cultural clusters. They add variety to a space and providing a spectacle. The Turbine Market will give vitality to Battersea Power Station, increasing footfall across the site.

— The rolling calendar of different market types and events helps to draw visitors in from other areas, as well as linking in with the local community.

— The market provides a great venue for further spectacles, such as street performance, or promotional events.

— Encouraging small traders, who may expand into the permanent units, promotes the longer term sustainability of the retail offer as a whole.

Context at a glance

— New Covent Garden Market, opposite Battersea Power Station is the largest fresh produce market in the UK, supplying London with fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants. Employing over 2,800, customers include leading chefs and florists, restaurants and hotels, schools and hospitals.

— There has been a market at Spitalfields since 1638. The renovated Spitalfields Market attracts over 25,000 visitors a week14

— Camden Lock, Stables and Market attract over 5 million visitors a year15

— Fashion label Red or Dead was started by Wayne and Geraldine Hemingway as a stall at Camden Market in 1982.

— There has been a market at the site of Southwark’s Borough Market, for nearly 1,000 years. Re-energised by a dedicated and enthusiastic traders association since 1998, it has since been christened “the de facto HQ of a new British food culture” by the Guardian Newspaper16

Turbine Market The best of London’s markets – an urban market, bringing vibrancy to the site

14 www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/news/east_end_life/11_january/spitalfields_market_on_the_map.aspx 15 www.camdenguide.co.uk/markets/camdenmarket.htm 16 www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/sep/24/london-borough-market-future-fears

Independent Market Stall, Spitalfields Market, 2010.

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Making it happen

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It is our belief that in order to make Battersea a truly creative place – every element of the development must be justified to ensure that it contributes towards this vision. Each aspect of the development will be subject to “The Creative Filter”. This Creative Filter will be at the heart of the governance model which will draw together every aspect of Battersea Power Station’s development and operation towards becoming a creative district.

The Creative Filter will comprise:

1. The Advisors Group. High profile cultural figures, politicians and media figures will form a board which will meet and act as ambassadors for Battersea Power Station. The Cultural Ambassadors

will also advise Battersea Power Station’s development and operation, and make suggestions for programming themes and potential partners. We will draw on their expertise in their individual fields to guide the creative vision from the bottom up.

2. The Creative Board. A powerful executive board will meet regularly to oversee the creative elements of Battersea Power Station. All major interventions will be referred to the creative Board to assess their potential creative impact – including the design and operation of the creative spaces but also broader decisions relating to development of the site and ongoing estate management and marketing.


Through drawing on the experience of experts, Battersea Power Station won’t just be ‘another development’ – it will be a place tailored to the needs of those who will use it. By inviting those involved in the creative industries to contribute their know-how to the scheme, the place will be authentic but critically, it will be useful.

The Creative Board is the main mechanism by which this will be achieved. Giving operators of cultural spaces the opportunity to sit on the Creative Board will help them to understand the vision for Battersea Power Station and allow them to communicate this vision with their wider networks.

Governance model The establishment of a governance structure will guide and sustain Battersea Power Station as a creative district throughout its development.

An industrial switch, Control room B, Battersea Power Station, 2010.

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Current and emerging Government policies are relevant to the cultural and creative businesses which will populate our development. To succeed, we must work in step with these policies.

National level

Battersea Power Station cultural strategy relates to two strands of current Government policy: promotion of the creative industries and the development of a higher quality, better designed built environment.

— The Government has a strong commitment to developing and maintaining Britain’s creative industries, as laid out in its policy document creative Britain – New Talents for the New Economy (2008)17. The

Government emphasises the importance of these industries to the economy, and gives a commitment to supporting them in the long term. There is likely to be continued investment and support in this area.

— The Government is also emphasising improvements in quality of place, something supported by its strategy document, World Class Places (2009)18. This emphasises the importance of quality of design, particularly in relation to the public realm. The Battersea Power Station redevelopment will rate highly on this agenda, although it must take note of findings from influential bodies such as the CABE.

— The Conservative Party proposals have made it clear

that the creative Industries are a key part of their economic vision for Britain. Jeremy Hunt (Shadow Culture spokesman 2009/10) has emphasised that they are vital to the economy as a whole, and has said that no social regeneration project is complete without a strong creative sector dimension. The Conservative Party have also made commitments to improving quality of place, having signed up to the World Class Places document.

Key areas of alignment

— Both the creative industries and the quality of the built environment are key to the current Government’s policy and are also both central to Battersea Power Station’s offer.

The wider picture: Government policy Aligning with Government policy

Battersea Power Station’s empty interior used as a filming location for the movie Batman, The Dark Knight, 2007.

17 www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/3572.aspx18 www.culture.gov.uk/reference_library/publications/6158.aspx

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City levelLondon

London already has over 550,000 creative jobs and the visitor economy is worth around £15 billion per year19. Key strategies that need to be considered are:

— The London Plan is the spatial development strategy for London. The current plan was written in 2004 – clearly in a different economic context – and is currently being redrafted. It gives a number of specific mentions to Battersea’s development, although does not mention culture or cultural activity in reference to the area. The New London Plan (released in draft form in December 2009), will contain support for Cultural Quarters, and emphasise the need for a ‘distinct offer’ when putting them together.

— Although there is no mention of Battersea’s creative credentials, the area is close to Bankside and the Southbank of the Thames. This is a designated Strategic Cultural Area in the London Plan, sometimes referred to as the ‘cultural ribbon’. There is potential for Battersea Power Station to link up with this area and lengthen this ‘ribbon’ upstream along the Thames.

— Cultural Metropolis is the Mayor’s vision for cultural strategy in the capital. Battersea Power Station’s proposals already align with this strategy. Relevant points of emphasis include the need to maintain London’s position as a world centre of cultural excellence (referencing the Tate Turbine Hall); to develop targeted support for the creative

industries (suggesting likely potential support for incubator spaces); and to create a lively public realm (suggesting that the emphasis on public art and an animation strategy will be well received).


— Positioning Battersea as part of the cultural ribbon, leading down from Bankside.

— Reminding policy makers of Battersea Power Station’s emphasis on developing the creative industries.

— Battersea Power Station’s redevelopment works towards The London Plan’s regeneration strategy, with the site within one of the four identified Opportunity Areas in the Central London sub-region.

Local levelWandsworth and Nine Elms

— Wandsworth’s cultural strategy states the borough’s commitments. The borough ‘would like everyone to have the opportunity to participate in a variety of cultural activities which will: increase their well being; promote community engagement and cohesion through appreciation of Wandsworth’s diversity, and foster a sense of place and belonging within the neighbourhoods and communities of the borough’20

— The Nine Elms draft strategy sets out the Mayor of London’s plans for the area surrounding and including the Battersea Power Station site. Plans propose the linking of the site with the rest of the area, for instance with a new bridge

across the Thames and improved cycle and pedestrian networks. This recognition of the need for improvements to the accessibility to the site is crucial in making these cultural proposals a success.

— The Nine Elms Opportunity Board is a partnership set up by Wandsworth Borough Council and landowners and businesses in Nine Elms, designed to maximise the extent to which local people and businesses benefit from the opportunities generated. It is important to emphasise the cultural and creative aspects of Battersea Power Station through this channel as there are clear benefits to the local community from the programme.


— The Build-Up creative Programme is a crucial opportunity to establish Battersea Power Station’s profile as a creative and cultural centre as this clearly fits with both national and city policy strategies.

— When working with local politicians at Borough level, Battersea Power Station needs to emphasise the benefits of culture and the creative industries – and so encourage them to prioritise these industries in local policy.

— To do this they should emphasise the efforts being made to include local people and ensure they benefit from the creative district, for instance through the Nine Elms Opportunity Board.

The Red Bull X Fighters at The Freestyle Motocross Championship, 2009.

19 www.london.gov.uk/lcsg/economy.jsp 20 www.wandsworth.gov.uk/download/2063/cultural_strategy

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Ever since opening, the iconic building has been a cultural canvas. From Pink Floyd to Batman, London Fashion Week to the Serpentine Gallery, the venue was, is, and always will be a focus for music, film, fashion and art. In the spirit of continuing this tradition, exciting temporary and one-off installations and events have already begun to animate the site during the development phase. This programme of events will continue and expand as the development progresses to further establish Battersea Power Station’s status as a creative district for London.

The programme will build on the existing events held on site, such as the Freeze London snowboarding festival and offer a glimpse of the seven cultural keystones which will inhabit Battersea Power Station when the development is complete.

Potential activities include:

— Hosting leading London arts events on-site, such as London Fashion Week, Frieze or Zoo Art Fairs, London international Festival of Theatre – either in temporary exhibition pods or in the Power Station’s new event space.

— Staging one-off concerts or a

high-quality programme as at Somerset House.

— Providing a stage for performing arts

— Bringing specialist markets onto the site such as a UK version of the German Christmas Market, or a new flower market, working in partnership with New Covent Garden.

— Curating an inspiring collection of public artworks and site-specific interventions by leading UK and international artists.

— Linking these events to one- off graduate showcases as preparation for the development of the new UK Arts Graduate Centre, developing links with the higher education sector.

Establishing Battersea Power Station as a creative district

The Build-Up creative Programme will expand the cultural significance of Battersea Power Station based on its overlapping identities as an architectural icon, symbol of London’s industrial past, film location, album cover – and now as a landmark sustainable redevelopment. This activity will continue to associate Battersea Power Station with leading UK creative events. By bringing people onto the site at an early stage, the Build-Up creative

Programme will also:— Build audiences for each

creative space to be built at Battersea Power Station.

— Develop relationships with the local community and local creative organisations.

— Keep Battersea Power Station in the media spotlight and build anticipation for its completion.

— Make it an exciting and vibrant place to be, encouraging potential tenants and residents to consider locating to Battersea Power Station.

Much work has already been done to make this vision a reality, but we will need to complete our vision in partnership with creative businesses and individuals who share our passion for culture, creativity and above all for Battersea Power Station.

If you’d like to be a part of this exciting, world-class opportunity in the heart of the most dynamic, creative city in the world, get in touch. We’d be happy to share with you more detailed plans and proposals that we’re developing, and explore how you can join us in building London’s new creative district.

www.battersea-powerstation.comcreative@battersea-powerstation.com

The Build-Up Creative ProgrammeAnimating Battersea Power Station during development, establishing the site’s creative credentials.

The Cast of Royal de Luxe Theatre Company’s show ‘The Sultan’s Elephant’ produced by Artichoke. Photo by Matthew Andrews, 2006.

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Credits

Commissioned by Treasury Holdings

Lead Consultant: Mark DavyEditor: Andrew MissinghamTechnical & Logistical Support:Alex Homfray & Callum Lee

Designed by Imagistwww.imagistlondon.com

For more information contact:

Battersea Power Station188 Kirtling StreetBatterseaLondon SW8 5BN

creative@battersea-powerstation.comwww.battersea-powerstation.comTel+44 207 5010688

Futurecity LtdArts&Business,Nutmeg House60 Gainsford StreetButlers WharfLondon SE1 2NY

T +44(0)20 7407 0500F +44(0)20 7407 3636

www.futurecity.co.uk

Dials from Control Room A Battersea Power Station, 2010.

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