For the first time in 30 years
This weekend local people will be able to set foot on the Battersea Power Station site for the first time in 30 years.
A Pop-Up Park has been created within the iconic building's grounds which will be open to the public as part of this year's Chelsea Fringe Festival (May 18 - June 9).
Access to the temporary park will be via a new pedestrian walkway underneath Grosvenor Railway Bridge. This means local people will be able to walk along the river from Battersea Park into the power station site.
Additional disability access will be via Gate 2 Kirtling Street SW8 5DN. There is no parking on site.
The Pop-Up Park will remain open to the public at weekends between now and September, events and construction schedules allowing.
The Chelsea Fringe is an alternative gardening festival. Around 20 projects will take place on the power station site including sculpture, interactive artwork, performances and poetry, food and drink stalls, a surreal tea party and a mass human 'planting'.
The 2.5 acre Pop-Up Park was created by LDA Design, most prominently known for their delivery of the Olympic Park.
Those wishing to hold events in the Pop-Up Park are invited to put any proposals to the events team at Battersea Power Station.
The regeneration of the world-recognised Battersea Power Station is a unique proposition and a key element of the extensive redevelopment of Nine Elms on the South Bank.
It is a designated town centre for the area, with a new High Street and tube station to be served by the Northern Line Extension.
The redevelopment will deliver a mix of residential, retail and recreational opportunities alongside riverside landscaping and space for the arts, providing a destination for people to live, work and socialise.
Hosting the Chelsea Fringe Festival is the first of many community initiatives planned for Battersea Power Station which will open the site to visitors as much as possible within the constraints of ongoing construction works.
The Pop-Up Park is a temporary facility which will ultimately be replaced with a larger, six acre permanent park on the riverside. At the conclusion of the redevelopment the site will provide over twenty acres of open space.
Chelsea Fringe Festival at Battersea Power Station will be open Saturday May 18 to Sunday 26 May, June 1 & 2, June 8 & 9. Thereafter the new Pop- Up Park will be open during the weekends between now and September, site schedules allowing. Please consult the Battersea Power Station the website for more detail.
A bicycle and trailer decorated with planted beer cans distributing seed packets and information
A cappella singing group at 1pm
And at 3pm-6pm, people planted into 35x 1sq m planters.
Within the foliage of planted trees are hidden glass containers with mini worlds inside, viewed by telescope.
Stone petal seats create an 8-ft wide and 6-ft high circle.
Free-standing hammocks where concealed mini-speakers play a soundscape.
A bright pink growing interactive sculpture in container boxes.
And on Bank Holiday Saturday May 25 (in addition to those activities taking place throughout the Fringe)
Site specific poem performance
A conveyor belt plant swap
An interactive theatre piece with dining table and eight chairs.
Access to Chelsea Fringe is via a new footpath created under Grosvenor Bridge Railway.
Additional disability access will be via Gate 2 Kirtling Street SW8 5DN. There is no parking on site.
Nearest public transport routes are Vauxhall (Victoria line and overland), Battersea Park or Queenstown Road stations and buses 44, 156, 137 and 344.
Further information on Battersea Power Station can be found at www.batterseapowerstation.co.uk/or telephone +44 (0)20 7501 0678.
A temporary UK sales exhibition centre at Battersea Power Station is open by appointment.
For further information please go to www.chelseafringe.com or www.batterseapowerstation.co.uk.
May 18, 2013