Is Battersea Power Station Britain's Second Worst Eyesore?

Dean Nicholas
By Dean Nicholas Last edited 177 months ago

Last Updated 23 March 2010

Is Battersea Power Station Britain's Second Worst Eyesore?

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Photo / naughton321
A survey conducted by Beautiful Britain magazine has ranked Giles Gilbert Scott's broken but beloved riverside power station as the second worst eyesore in the country.

The mag, which (to judge by its website) has a taste that tacks towards the bucolic, commissioned the survey to find out which vistas are most crippling to the corneas of its readership, and the forlorn Battersea plant came 2nd in the list. Described in a press release as a "cringe-worthy landmark", Battersea proved less unpopular than the No. 1 item on the list, to whit, "motorways", but more reviled among the 5,000 people surveyed than "M1 service stations", which fell in at No. 3. Doesn't say much for BB's survey-taking skills that the top three of this hopelessly haphazard list include a building, a key part of the country's transport infrastructure, and a series of privately-operated roadside conveniences.

A look at the top ten reveals a Luddite's view of modern Britain: other egregious erections that have dared to sully the wide open spaces of their Constable-coloured vision, include "wind farms" and "electricity pylons". The Millennium Dome also finds itself sitting within the top 10 most offensive objects, though by describing it as a "financial flop" that "failed to attract visitors" suggests a lack of engagement in its post-2006 rebirth as the O2.

What say you, people of London? Is Battersea as bad as Beautiful Britain says it is?