Bankside Power Station: Planning, Politics and Pollution
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BANKSIDE POWER STATION: PLANNING, POLITICS AND POLLUTION Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Leicester by Stephen Andrew Murray Centre for Urban History University of Leicester 2014 Bankside Power Station ii Bankside Power Station: Planning, Politics and Pollution Stephen Andrew Murray Abstract Electricity has been a feature of the British urban landscape since the 1890s. Yet there are few accounts of urban electricity undertakings or their generating stations. This history of Bankside power station uses government and company records to analyse the supply, development and use of electricity in the City of London, and the political, economic and social contexts in which the power station was planned, designed and operated. The close-focus adopted reveals issues that are not identified in, or are qualifying or counter-examples to, the existing macro-scale accounts of the wider electricity industry. Contrary to the perceived backwardness of the industry in the inter-war period this study demonstrates that Bankside was part of an efficient and profitable private company which was increasingly subject to bureaucratic centralised control. Significant decision-making processes are examined including post-war urban planning by local and central government and technological decision-making in the electricity industry. The study contributes to the history of technology and the environment through an analysis of the technologies that were proposed or deployed at the post-war power station, including those intended to mitigate its impact, together with an examination of their long-term effectiveness. Bankside made a valuable contribution to electricity supplies in London until the 1973 Middle East oil crisis compromised its economic viability. In addition to altered economic externalities, changing environmental and social conditions influenced how Bankside was perceived. Its pollution became increasingly unacceptable and the building itself came to be seen as a major architectural and industrial archaeological achievement. The transformation to Tate Modern in 2000 was instrumental in the social repositioning of the gloomy post-industrial Bankside locality to a modern cultural area. Bankside’s central London location, its architectural and technological design, and its role as Tate Modern make this a significant case study in urban history, environmental history and the history of technology. Bankside Power Station iii Acknowledgements and dedication Firstly, my thanks go to my supervisors Dr Sally Horrocks and Prof. Simon Gunn for their support, encouragement, sound advice and wise guidance; but mostly for their unwavering belief in this project. Thanks to the individuals who have shared their memories of, and material on, Bankside power station, especially Prof. Norma Clarke, Peter Guillery, Barry Henniker, Barry Kett, Dr Geoff Marshall and Peter White. Thanks are due to the staff of the archives and libraries that I have used, and to the organisations responsible for maintaining such rich historical resources. Finally, thanks to Laurence for his tolerance in allowing me to indulge in this obsession for four years. This thesis is dedicated to the memory of B.S.W. who was killed in an explosion at Bankside power station on 30 September 1956. Bankside Power Station iv Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements and dedication ................................................................................. iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ............................................................................................................... vii Abbreviations, acronyms and glossary ............................................................................ ix Chapter 1 – Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Research questions ................................................................................................. 4 Literature review .................................................................................................... 6 Sources ................................................................................................................. 28 Chapter plan ......................................................................................................... 33 Chapter 2 – Electrifying the City: the City of London and its electricity supplies ........... 39 Early schemes and the City of London Electric Lighting Company....................... 40 Growth and development of electricity use and supply ......................................... 49 Local nuisance: noise, vibration, smoke and grit ................................................... 65 Inter-war electricity legislation: co-operation, control and complexity .................. 68 Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 85 Chapter 3 – Planning Bankside: post-war development and the battle for Bankside ....... 89 Planning London’s electricity ............................................................................... 90 Planning the built environment: the County of London Plan ................................. 96 The battle for Bankside: discussion, compromise and escalation ......................... 108 Approval and aftermath ...................................................................................... 124 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 138 Chapter 4 – Technology at Bankside: amenity, innovation and progress ...................... 141 Bankside ‘B’: a conventional coal-fired power station, 1945-46 ......................... 142 Technological responses to new requirements, 1947 ........................................... 149 Refining choices: alternative and experimental technologies, 1949-52 ................ 158 Technological change: size, efficiency and location, 1957-63 ............................. 176 District heating: fourth time unlucky - the primacy of economics, 1972-75 ......... 185 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 189 Chapter 5 – Bankside in Operation: effectiveness in changing environments ............... 191 A model power station: efficient and effective operation .................................... 192 Breakdown of the model: local problems at Bankside ‘B’ ................................... 210 Bankside Power Station v The end of the ideal model: challenging operation in changing environments ..... 223 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 235 Chapter 6 – Transforming Bankside: industrial dereliction to cultural consumerism .... 239 Evolution of the Bankside area, 1947-81 ............................................................ 241 Plans, protection and uncertainty, 1982-93 ......................................................... 248 Location, location, location: Battersea, Brunswick Wharf and Bankside ............. 263 Transformation 1: power station to Tate Modern, 1993-2000 .............................. 271 Transformation 2: redefining and regenerating the Bankside area ....................... 280 Transformation 3: extending Tate Modern .......................................................... 288 Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 292 Chapter 7 – Conclusions .............................................................................................. 295 Appendix A – Bankside power station: technical details .............................................. 308 Appendix B – Principal actors ..................................................................................... 319 Bibliography................................................................................................................ 322 Bankside Power Station vi List of Tables Table 3.1: Ownership of domestic electrical appliances, 1933-78. ...............................93 Table 4.1: Technical comparison of flue-gas treatment processes............................... 169 Table 4.2: Actual costs of the flue-gas treatment plants at Battersea and Fulham. ...... 170 Table 4.3: Estimated cost of the flue-gas treatment plant at Bankside. ....................... 171 Table 5.1: Performance of Bankside and Battersea power stations. ............................ 193 Table 5.2: Performance of the Bankside ‘B’ flue-gas washing plant. .......................... 209 Table 5.3: Electricity sales by the London Electricity Board, 1948-80. ...................... 211 Table A.1: Technical specification of Bankside ‘B’ boilers and turbo-alternators. ...... 311 Bankside Power Station vii List of Figures Figure 1.1: Tate Modern, 2011. .................................................................................... 1 Figure 2.1: Wool Quay generating station, c.1892........................................................46 Figure 2.2: Supply area of the City of London Electric Lighting Co., 1897. .................49 Figure 2.3: Sales of electricity by the CLELC, 1902-38. ..............................................54