Work to rebuild Battersea Power Station's four iconic chimneys is now complete.

The scheme has been carried out over the last two years and will bring the Grade II listed building back into use.

Nearly 25,000 wheelbarrow loads of concrete have been hand-poured into special "jump form" shutters to recreate the chimneys, which each stand 51 metres above the building. In addition, some 680 tonnes of concrete have been lifted in hoists, transferred into wheelbarrows and then poured into the structures.

-- Advertisement --

The original structures (two built in the 1930s and the second pair in the 1950s) were demolished due to becoming dangerously unstable. The method used to dismantle and rebuild the chimneys was awarded a prestigious accolade last month at the London Civil Engineering Awards.

The northeast and southwest chimneys will return to service as exhaust stacks, releasing water vapour generated by the new green Energy Centres which provide heat, cooling and electricity to the new Battersea Power Station and potentially other buildings in the neighbourhood. The northwest chimney is the last to be finished.

Rob Tincknell, Chief Executive Officer of the Battersea Power Station Development Company, said: "Battersea Power Station's chimneys have been the backdrop for films, music videos and album covers and really are world famous. On behalf of our shareholders, I would like to say it has been an honour to restore this iconic symbol to the London skyline so that it can be enjoyed by generations to come."

(LM/MH)