Us unveils battersea embassy plan

The US Government has today revealed the first plans for its new embassy on the banks of the Thames in Battersea, south London...

An outline planning application was submitted to Wandsworth Borough Council this week for the site in Nine Elms.

The application gives an indication of the plot of land and potential height of the embassy.

The embassy has set up a website for the plans - www.newusembassy-London.co.uk/ - as an aid to the public consultation that it has undertaken and will continue to undertake. 91 per cent of respondents over a series of exhibitions on the plans said the embassy would contribute positively to the regeneration of the surrounding area.

The planning application proposes a building of between 440,000 sq ft and 540,000 sq ft, along with three entrance pavilions.

The embassy has also lodged a detailed application for the realignment of the existing Ponton Road, a new junction with Nine Elms Lane and the widening of Nine Elms Lane.

The embassy is moving from Grosvenor Square in central London.

It is buying a five acre plot from Ballymore, which owns the surrounding site in the Nine Elms opportunity area.

The embassy hopes to submit a detailed planning application next year, after selecting an architect by early 2010.

Four US architects have been shortlisted to design the embassy: Richard Meier & Partners, PEI Cobb Freed, Kieran Timberlake and Morphosis Architects.

The embassy is due to move in 2016 if the process continues smoothly.

Chelsfield Partners is in talks to buy the Grosvenor Square building.

Source: www.propertyweek.com