Nine Elms

Coordinates: 51°29′N 0°08′W / 51.48°N 0.14°W / 51.48; -0.14
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Nine Elms
Nine Elms is located in Greater London
Nine Elms
Nine Elms
Location within Greater London
London borough
Ceremonial countyGreater London
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townLONDON
Postcode districtSW8, SW11
Dialling code020
PoliceMetropolitan
FireLondon
AmbulanceLondon
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°29′N 0°08′W / 51.48°N 0.14°W / 51.48; -0.14

Nine Elms is an area of south-west London, England, within the London Borough of Wandsworth. It lies on the River Thames, with Battersea to the west, South Lambeth to the south and Vauxhall to the east. Across the Thames is Pimlico.

The area was formerly mainly industrial but is becoming more residential and commercial in character. It is dominated by Battersea Power Station, various railway lines and New Covent Garden Market. The Battersea Dogs & Cats Home is also in the area.

Nine Elms has residential developments along the riverside, including Chelsea Bridge Wharf and Embassy Gardens, and also three large council estates: Carey Gardens, the Patmore Estate and the Savona.

History[edit]

A map showing the Nine Elms ward of Battersea Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

Nine Elms Lane was named around the year 1645, from a row of elm trees bordering the road, though a path probably existed between York House and Vauxhall from the 1200s. In 1838, at the time of construction of the London and Southampton Railway, the area was described as "a low swampy district occasionally overflowed by the River Thames [whose] osier beds, pollards and windmille and the river give it a Dutch effect".[1]

Nine Elms railway station opened on 21 May 1838 as the first London terminus of the London & South Western Railway, (LSWR) which that day changed its name from the London & Southampton Railway. The neo-classical building was designed by 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 via the Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct to a new terminus at Waterloo (then called Waterloo Bridge). The redundant station and the adjacent area, to the north of the new main line, became the LSWR's carriage and wagon works and main locomotive works until their relocation to Eastleigh in 1909.[2] The company's largest locomotive depot was located on the south side of the main line. The buildings were damaged by bombs in World War II, and closed in 1967. They were demolished in 1968 and replaced by the flower section of the New Covent Garden Market.[3][4]

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.

Vauxhall Motors was formed in 1857 by Scottish engineer Alexander Wilson at Nine Elms, originally as Alex Wilson and Company, before moving to Luton in 1907. There was a plaque commemorating the site of the original factory at the Sainsbury's Nine Elms petrol station on Wandsworth Road which has now been demolished and replaced with a new Sainsbury's superstore and high rise apartments as part of the current Nine Elms regeneration.

Since the 2010s, the area has been redeveloped with new residential and commercial developments – including the new United States Embassy. In 2021, an extension of the Northern line at Battersea Power Station serves the area at a Tube station at Nine Elms.

Local politics[edit]

Previously a part of Queenstown Ward, in 2022 Nine Elms ward was created, represented on Wandsworth Council by two councillors. The next local election is scheduled to take place in May 2026.

Nine Elms Ward 2022[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Conservative Matthew Corner (Elected) 352 39.9
Conservative Mark Justin (Elected) 328 37.2
Labour Alexander Christian 261 29.6
Labour Maha Younes 250 28.3
Liberal Democrats Mark Gitsham 239 27.1
Liberal Democrats Sue Wixley 212 24.0
Green Joanna Zeenny 41 4.6
Green Andrew Macmillan 34 3.9
Turnout 882

The Labour Member of Parliament for Battersea is Marsha de Cordova. She represented Larkhall ward, adjacent to Nine Elms, on Lambeth Council from 2014 to 2018.[6]

Future[edit]

Real Estate Opportunities were granted permission to redevelop the power station in November 2010.

In October 2008, the United States Embassy in London announced that it would relocate to the area, moving from Grosvenor Square, Mayfair;[7][8] the new embassy was completed in December 2017, and began operating in January 2018.[9]

On 16 February 2012, Wandsworth Council approved Ballymore Group's plans for a 15-acre development. Embassy Gardens is set to provide "up to 1,982 new homes alongside shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, business space, a 100 bed hotel, a health centre, children's playgrounds and sports pitches".[10] In 2014, it was reported that Ballymore had engaged Lazard and CBRE Group to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development.[11]

Houseboat in Nine Elms

Regeneration of the area around Battersea Power Station started in 2013, with the power station structure secured by 2016.[12][13] The Power Station building opened in October 2022, it containing shopping and leisure facilities, office space and housing.[14] To service the area, Nine Elms tube station, on the London Underground opened in September 2021, after a Northern line extension from Kennington.[15]

In 2015, Wandsworth council chose a design by Bystrup for a £40m pedestrian bridge between Nine Elms and Pimlico,[16][17][18] although as of 2021 there are no firm plans to construct this.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Nock, O. S. (1965). The London & South Western Railway. London: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0711002678.
  2. ^ Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1988). Waterloo to Windsor. Middleton Press. p. 18. ISBN 0-906520-54-1.
  3. ^ BR sells Nine Elms site for new London market Railway Gazette 6 June 1969 page 407
  4. ^ Nine Elms Station, image and information at Science and Society accessed 7 March 2007
  5. ^ "Election results for Nine Elms, 5 May 2022". Wandsworth Council. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Election results for Larkhall". Lambeth Council. 22 May 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  7. ^ "U.S. Takes First Steps Toward Embassy Relocation". Embassy of the U.S. London. 2 October 2008. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
  8. ^ Lawless, Jill (2 October 2008). "US to build new embassy in suburban London". USA Today.
  9. ^ "Location of the US Embassy London". usembassy.gov. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  10. ^ "Embassy Gardens plans approved". wandsworth.gov.uk. 17 February 2012.
  11. ^ Webb, Nick (24 May 2014). "Mulryan is close to wiping slate clean". independent.ie. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  12. ^ Booth, Robert (20 June 2008). "Latest plans for Battersea power station revealed". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  13. ^ Whitten, Nick (24 March 2009). "Battersea Power Station regeneration to go to planning". Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  14. ^ "Battersea Power Station opens after decades of decay". BBC News. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  15. ^ "TfL applies for Northern line extension legal powers". Railway Gazette International. 30 April 2013.
  16. ^ Wainwright, Oliver (25 November 2015). "Public fury as new bridge across the Thames announced at Nine Elms". The Guardian.
  17. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area Planning Framework Consultation Draft November 2009" (PDF). Greater London Authority. November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2015.

External links[edit]

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