Alligator farm considered for South London
24/01/2020
Property firm Avanton was approached by a Florida alligator farm operator interested in expanding into the UK, according to architectural publication Building Design. The proposal was said to include housing alligators in a 20m-deep pool under a circular glass conservatory within the 48.8m-high metal frame, as well as a visitors’ centre and educational facility surrounded by landscaped parkland.
Avanton bought the 1.6ha site on Southwark’s Old Kent Road in December, which includes a grade-II listed Victorian gasholder. The £230m mixed-use regeneration scheme would also contain hundreds of new homes and 50,000sq ft of light industrial commercial uses. Other proposals are being considered as well.
If the proposal for an alligator farm is selected, according to Building Design, the reptiles would likely come from one of the UK’s two existing facilities, at Brize Norton in Oxfordshire and Old Hurst near Huntingdon.
Image: Computer-generated image by Avanton showing regenerated gasholder.
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