Lots Road Power Station

Following on from Monday's post, this takes us out of Chelsea Harbour and into Lots Road itself.
I was last there in November 2008 and took the pictures that form the top row of this collection:

As you can see the metal silo-type building on the opposite side of Chelsea Creek (part of Counter's Creek) has gone and a vast swathe of land now stands empty waiting to be developed. It'll probably end up looking like Chelsea harbour itself, or the opposite bank in Wandsworth, or Battersea.
I just googled 'Chelsea Creek' for the link above and the first thing that came up on the list was a site saying that this is the 'newest and most fashionable dockside development, combining luxurious city living with blissful tranquility'
Aha! Very clever... what they mean here is it's like living in the city at the weekend when all the offices are closed. i.e. it's dead! Tranquil... means there's no one about (see Monday's post re Chelsea Harbour)
Since I am pulling apart estate agent speak here, what exactly is a 'luxurious' in this sense? Most homes these days have flushing toilets, running water, gas central heating etc. Some even have underfloor heating, double-glazing and en-suite bathrooms. But are these luxuries? Surely these are things you'd expect to find in an expensive box-as-home in an area such as Chelsea. I have even seen the word 'luxury' on billboards for flats in Holloway, North London. Does luxury vary borough to borough? Do these homes have wall to wall cashmere carpets and sensor lighting that goes on and off when you wink in a certain way? Perhaps Chelsea folk get even more luxury for their money and their apartments come complete with a butler-mum-PA who does absolutely everything... he/she cooks and feeds you, runs you bath/shower, dries you and even wipes your bum.
Anyway...
Lots Road...
There doesn't appear to have been much change to the Lots Road Power Station main building in the five and half years since I was there last. It's sort of the same as happened to Battersea Power Station – they say developments are pending and then these buildings just sit there derelict for decades. Indeed, the patchwork interior wall, shown top right, still looks the same today. The lovely green concertina goods gates are still intact, as is the building opposite that use to house Cremorne Works.
Further along the road I saw someone carefully renovating the little blue corner shop.
I have made a note in my diary to go back again in another five years to check if anything has moved on or if there is any sign of life there.

Chelsea Harbour and Imperial Wharf

On Saturday I went down to the Chelsea waterfront to check out access points for a future foreshore forage*.
God, it's dull down there. Back in the late 90s /early 00s, I had the misfortune to occasionally freelance at an office within the Chelsea Harbour development. I found it devoid of any life and it made me feel trapped and alienated. It was just expensive furnishing emporiums, expensive boxy apartments, expensive boats and one or two places where you could get some over-priced snacks and drinks. I would breathe a sigh of relief when I reconnected with reality every evening.
I hoped things might have improved over the years and it would now be more of a go-to area vis-a-vis St Katharine Docks etc. But no.
I was in the vicinity for just over an hour and apart from a street cleaner, two people getting into a car, another two looking hungry, one man on one of the many apartment balconies with a river view, one lady with a cute little dog and one jogger, that was it.

Chelsea Harbour still looks like something the props department made for Howards Way. It's accessed via Lots Road, an area now standing mostly empty or derelict, waiting to be transformed into the next set of glass boxes for people who occasionally need a London pad. 

The Thames Path leads west from the harbour, via Imperial Wharf, under the beautiful brick-built Wandsworth Railway Bridge, and on to Wandsworth [road] Bridge. I only walked about three quarters of it before I turned back again.
Despite what Imperial Wharf's website says, nothing is happening there. This 'sought-after location' is dull dull dull. Or perhaps people who can afford £1000 a week rent money are also dull.
Along the path there are a few dockers' mistresses and metal ladders preserved within recesses in a modern fence designed to resemble an ocean liner indicating that this was once a lively and commercial stretch of the river. On the other side of the path there are overly-landscaped and manicured gardens in front of Imperial Wharf's imposing apartment blocks. It certainly doesn't look like a park to relax in. I very much doubt you can kick a ball about there. Ooh, sorry, just remembered I also saw two people sitting in the park, so that's a total of ten.
Next to a identikit riverfront pub there is a restaurant called the Blue Elephant; I think White Elephant might be a better name.
I also spotted near the harbour a few lamp stands with dragons on them and, moored at the river taxi jetty (closed), there was a gilded barge. Who owns this? Is it Royal?
A sign on the old power station gates reads: Chelsea Waterfront – Quintessentially London. Eh? Discuss.

*Sorry, fellow foragers, but there are no easy steps available, so this area won't be an area we'll be visiting in the future.