Photo Rockwell Property
The Citizen Campaign – Save Battersea Riverside
The fight continues to stop a voracious property developer from building an enormous apartment block on the south side of Battersea Bridge. If granted permission, One Battersea Bridge would set a dangerous precedent that could lead to more towers and, ultimately, the devastation of this relatively untouched stretch of the riverside. Further to the west would also be in danger.
The original planning application by Rockwell Property was vehemently opposed by thousands of residents and a plethora of respected groups, including Historic England, Environment Agency, the Emergency Services, RSPB and multiple London societies. It was also roundly opposed by Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Wandsworth councils.
Following a lengthy meeting of Wandsworth Council’s planning committee last April, the proposals were unanimously rejected. Despite all the highly considered opposition to its plans, Rockwell Property appealed to the Planning Inspectorate. This has prompted a costly public inquiry that begins on 17th March at Wandsworth Town Hall and will last eight days.
This page provides all the background to the proposals and to the campaign which started in June 2024. to stop it. The Chelsea Citizen will be covering every day of the public inquiry. Its reports will be posted here.
AI film shows how Rockwell Property’s tower for Battersea Bridge might unfold
The Chelsea Citizen partnered with the Friends of Battersea Riverside - our campaigning compatriots across the water - to create a short film to depict how Rockwell Property's tower development might pan out. The video was constructed using AI and it portrays the...
Public Inquiry Day 7: Curtain falls on the public inquiry into the Battle of Battersea Bridge
Seven days. One towering row. The planning inquiry that swung from dry technical detail to full-blown courtroom theatre finally reached its climax yesterday. At precisely 1pm, Planning Inspector Joanna Gilbert — cool, yet affable and quick to smile, bespectacled and...
Public Inquiry Day 6: Flood defences drama makes sudden ingress into council chamber
The final full day of the explosive Battersea Tower public inquiry witnessed a dramatic late intervention yesterday from the Government’s Environment Agency — raising fresh fears the controversial high-rise could put flood defences at risk. During Day Six of the...
Exclusive: Bianca Jagger gambles on helping residents to stop Earl’s Court casino expansion
Human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger has stepped in to support anxious residents who are trying to fight off the opening of a new slot machine casino in Earl's Court, The Citizen can reveal. Ms Jagger, a resident in the Royal Borough, has weighed in with an...