Paper round: Doubts over Battersea redevelopment

No sign of grandiose plans surfacing down by the river

Questions remain over whether Battersea power station will ever be redeveloped following its sale this reports the Financial Times. Parkview sold Battersea for £400m to Irish developers Real Estate Opportunities last week. The paper suggests the sale will result in a scaling down of the redevelopment plans which at various times have included a theme park, and luxury housing.

Saunder’s stadiums goal

The Sunday Times reports that former WEST LB banker Robin Saunders has teamed up with financier Lord Jacob Rothschild to build football stadiums in Europe in return for 20% ownership of the seats.

Olympics Site to deliver £4bn windfall after games

Staging the 2012 Olympic games will produce a windfall of up to £4bn, The Observer reports this weekend. The money will come from selling land, buildings and the athlete's village to private developers after the games are over. The biggest source of profit, the paper says, will come from selling the land around the Olympic Park that has been acquired for 2012. Government sources claim it is likely to fetch around four times the £1bn spent on acquiring it, because the regeneration will make the area more attractive.

Games budget to hit £8bn

The Sunday Times reported that the government is soon expected to come clean over the spiralling costs of the Olympic Games by publishing a revised budget in the next three months.

Householders face ‘pay as you throw’ rubbish tax

The paper also said that thousands of householders may soon have to pay Britain’s first domestic rubbish tax under an Environment Agency proposal. The scheme would mean that householders are charged according to the weight of all the non recyclable waste they put out as rubbish each week. All green waste, recyclable paper, metal and glass would still be taken away for free.