Battersea Power Station has stood empty for years awaiting development and approval of plans. Now it has been announced that in October 2013, conversion into new homes will finally begin thirty years after the power station closed. The Battersea Power Station Development Company is behind the venture and in charge of the restoration of the Grade II listed building.

In October this year [2013] it will be the 30th anniversary since the power station was closed down. The project to convert it to housing is going to take 3 years, to complete in 2016 and preparatory work has already begun.

The power station with solar panel restoration project will run into millions of pounds and will need to include much major repair work before any renovation is actually undertaken. The first phase of the building work is to repair the external brickwork, clean the towers, do work to the steel frame, repair and replace windows and take down and rebuild the famous chimneys. The chimneys will be reconstructed to the same design but using the latest safety and structural standards. The idea is to keep the building looking the same and as an icon of London.