BPS Opens New Children’s Playground and Park Area

⦁ The Mayor of Wandsworth officially opened the new Prospect Park children’s playground and park area at Battersea Power Station yesterday

⦁ Local school children from St Mary’s RC Primary School were amongst the first to put the new colourful playground, which has been designed by LDA Design, to the test

The new Prospect Park children’s playground and park area at Battersea Power Station was officially opened yesterday by the Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Richard Field. To celebrate this milestone for the project, a special event was hosted at the new riverside neighbourhood, which will also see the Grade II* listed Power Station and Electric Boulevard, a new high street for Battersea, open to the public from September this year.

The event was attended by local school children from St Mary’s RC Primary School, Battersea, who were keen to put the new colourful playground to the test, and local stakeholders.

The Prospect Park playground and park area is located in the third phase of the Battersea Power Station development next to the Gehry Partners designed Prospect Place, which will begin welcoming residents shortly. The playground, which is open to the public daily from 8am – 8pm was designed by landscape architects, LDA Design, to be deliberately playful and colourful next to the iconic Power Station, Gehry’s beautifully designed Prospect Place and Battersea Roof Gardens from Foster + Partners. LDA Design also designed the playground to feature areas suitable for all ages so children can discover fun new elements as they get older.

With the opening of Prospect Park also comes a new public footpath running from the Zone 1 Battersea Power Station Underground station through to the south of the Power Station and Circus West Village, the first chapter in the regeneration of Battersea Power Station. This shorter and more direct route makes it even easier to access the great mix of restaurants, cafés, fitness and leisure offerings already open at this riverside neighbourhood, including Gordon Ramsay’s Street Pizza, Francesco Mazzei’s Fiume, The Turbine Theatre, Be Military Fit, Black Sheep Coffee and The Cinema in The Arches.

Councillor Richard Field, Mayor of Wandsworth, said:

“I was delighted to open the new Prospect Park children’s playground and park area at Battersea Power Station today. I would like to congratulate all those involved in delivering this exciting outdoor space, which is a great addition to the new riverside neighbourhood that is being created at Battersea Power Station. I’m sure many families and children from the local community will enjoy hours of fun here.”

Alex Baker, Director of Communities and Sustainability at Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC), said: 

“I’m delighted to see that the Prospect Park playground has already been a big hit with the pupils from St Mary’s RC Primary School today. Creating large areas of open space for members of the local community, residents and visitors to enjoy has been integral to the Battersea Power Station masterplan since our shareholders took over the project nearly 10 years ago, with almost half of the 42-acre site being transformed into beautiful areas of public realm.” 

Ben Walker, Studio Director at LDA Design, said:

“It’s wonderful to see another piece of the Battersea Power Station jigsaw complete in time for spring. LDA Design has been working with the team at Battersea Power Station for a decade now and being part of this monumental transformation means a lot to us. I’m looking forward to bringing my own children here – their exuberance helped shape this colourful, climbable landscape, which brings a touch of tree house to the city. Inspired by the planting around this new riverside neighbourhood, there is adventure and challenge to be had in this playground and I can’t wait to hear the peals of laughter and see children enjoying this space.”

Once open to the public from September 2022, Battersea Power Station will form the centrepiece of a new ‘15-minute’ live, work and play neighbourhood, which will act as a town centre for the immediate and wider local communities, a new business quarter for the capital and a leisure destination for Londoners and international visitors. The Power Station will be home to 254 residential apartments, over 100 retail shops, restaurants and cafés, including a 20,000 sq ft food hall, office and unique event spaces, as well as a Chimney Lift Experience offering 360° views from the top of the Power Station’s North West chimney.

The retail and leisure experience will continue on a new high street, Electric Boulevard, which runs from the south of the Power Station, between the Frank Gehry designed Prospect Place and Foster + Partners’ Battersea Roof Gardens. Electric Boulevard will offer a mix of office space, shops, bars and restaurants, a park, playground and an exciting new 164 room hotel from art’otel®, the brand’s first hotel to open in London.

With the Northern Line extended to give this new riverside neighbourhood its very own Zone 1 London Underground station, Battersea Power Station is now within 15 minutes of the West End and the City and is expected to draw visitors from across the capital and the globe, becoming one of London’s most visited destinations, boosting the local economy and creating over 17,000 jobs.