- Nine Elms
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Nine Elms is a suburb of London, situated in the far north-eastern corner of the London Borough of Wandsworth between Battersea and Vauxhall.
It is primarily an industrial area, dominated by Battersea Power Station, Battersea Dogs and Cats Home, railway lines, a major Royal Mail sorting office and the New Covent Garden Market.
Nine Elms Lane was named, around 1645, from a row of trees bordering the road. In 1838, at the time of construction of the London and Southampton Railway, the area was described as “a low swammpy district occasionally overflowed by the Thames [whose] osiers beds, pollards and windmille and the river give it a Dutch effect.…”
Nine Elms railway station opened on 21 May 1838, as the first London terminus of the London and South Western Railway which that day changed its name from the London and Southampton Railway. The neo-classical building was designed by Sir William Tite. The station was connected to points between Vauxhall and London Bridge by Thames steam boats. It closed in 1848 when the railway was extended to a new terminus at Waterloo station (then called Waterloo Bridge Station). The redundant station and the adjacent area, to the north of the new mainline, became the London and South Western Railway’s carriage and wagon works and main locomotive works until their relocation to Eastleigh in 1909. The company’s largest locomotive depot was located on the south side of the main line. The buildings, damaged by bombs in World War II, were demolished in 1974 and replaced by the flower section of the New Covent Garden Market.[1]
Gasworks were established in 1853, close to the existing waterworks of the Southwark and Vauxhall Waterworks Company. Later Battersea Power Station was built on the site.
Nine Elms contains some residential areas along the riverside, most recent of which is Chelsea Bridge Wharf, and three large council estates: Carey Gardens, The Patmore and The Savona.
Contents
Future
Real Estate Opportunities were granted permission to redevelop the power station in November 2010
On 30 November 2006, it was announced that Real Estate Opportunities, led by Irish businessmen Richard Barrett and Johnny Ronan of Treasury Holdings, had purchased Battersea Power Station and the surrounding land for €532 million (£400 million). REO subsequently announced that the previous plan by Parkview had been dropped and that it had appointed the practice of the Uruguayan-born architect Rafael Viñoly, of New York as the new master planner for the site.
They announced their £4 billion plans in 2008. They include reusing part of the station building as a power station, fuelled by biomass and waste. The station's existing chimneys would be utilised for venting steam. The former turbine halls would be converted to shopping spaces, and the roofless boiler house used as a park.
A plastic built "eco-dome" is also to be built to the east of the power station.[2] This building was originally planned to have a large 300 metres (980 ft) chimney, but this has now been abandoned in favour of a series of smaller towers.[3] The eco-dome would house offices, and aim to reduce energy consumption in the buildings by 67% compared to conventional office buildings, by using the towers to draw cool air through the building. 3,200 new homes would also be built on the site to house 7,000 people.[2]
An essential part of the regeneration is an extension of the London Underground to service the area. The proposed extension would branch from the Northern Line at Kennington and travel west to Nine Elms and Battersea. The proposed extension would cost £350 million and would be funded by REO and other significant land owners in the Nine Elms area, making it the first privately funded extension of the London Underground.[3] The extension is planned to be open by 2017 [4]
In June 2008 a consultation process was launched, which revealed that 66% of the general public were in favour of the plans. At an event at the station on 23 March 2009, it was announced that REO were to submit the planning application for their proposal to Wandsworth Council.[3] The Council gave planning consent on 11 November 2010.[5] REO hoped for construction to begin in 2011, but this has now been delayed to 2012.[6] The station structure itself is expected to be repaired and secure by 2016, with completion of the whole project by 2020.[5][2][3] Plans now include the construction of 3,400 apartments and 3,500,000-square-foot (330,000 m2) of office space.[6] Approximately 28,000 inhabitants and 25,000 workers are expected to occupy the space once complete.[7]
Also October 2008 it was announced that the U.S. Embassy in London would relocate to the area, moving from its current base in Mayfair’s Grosvenor Square.[8]
See also
- The Optimists of Nine Elms (1974 film, starring Peter Sellers)
References
- ^ Nine Elms Station, image and information at Science and Society accessed 07 Mar 2007
- ^ a b c Booth, Robert (20 June 2008). "Latest plans for Battersea power station revealed". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/jun/20/art.architecture. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
- ^ a b c d Whitten, Nick (24 March 2009). "Battersea Power Station regeneration to go to planning". http://www.cnplus.co.uk/news/battersea-power-station-regeneration-to-go-to-planning/1995789.article. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
- ^ Northern Line extension: Background Accessed 15 May 2011
- ^ a b Hatcher, David (12 November 2010). "REO's Battersea Power Station granted consent by Wandsworth". www.propertyweek.com. http://www.propertyweek.com/news/news-by-region/london/reos-battersea-power-station-granted-consent-by-wandsworth/5008973.article. Retrieved 28 January 2011.
- ^ a b http://www.officespacefinders.com/serviced/new-battersea-power-station-plans-include-office-space-4250
- ^ Hudson, Clare (30 March 2011). "What will become of Battersea Power Station?". http://news.searchofficespace.com/sos-news/what-will-become-of-battersea-power-station.html. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
- ^ Embassy of the U.S. London: Public Affairs Section: Press Release accessed 02 Oct 2008
External links
- Aerial photo of Nine Elms. Other map and aerial photo sources.
London Borough of Wandsworth Districts Balham · Battersea · Earlsfield · Furzedown · Nine Elms · Putney · Putney Heath · Putney Vale · Roehampton · Southfields · Streatham Park · Tooting · Wandsworth
Attractions Constituencies Other topics People · Public art · SchoolsParks and open spaces in Wandsworth Categories:- Districts of London
- Districts of Wandsworth
- Numeric epithets
- Districts of London on the River Thames
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