Nine Elms

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Nine Elms
New Embassy of the United States of America in Battersea Nine Elms, London, seen from Pimlico.jpg
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Nine Elms
Location within Greater London
London borough
Ceremonial county Greater London
Region
Country England
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town LONDON
Postcode district SW8, SW11
Dialling code 020
Police Metropolitan
Fire London
Ambulance London
UK Parliament
London Assembly
List of places
UK
England
London
51°29′N0°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, with some parts (including the tube station) extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Lambeth. 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.

Contents

The area was formerly mainly industrial but has become more residential and commercial in character. It is dominated by New Covent Garden Market and Battersea Power Station.

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

History

A map showing the Nine Elms ward of Battersea Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916. Battersea Met. B Ward Map 1916.svg
A map showing the Nine Elms ward of Battersea Metropolitan Borough as it appeared in 1916.

Nine Elms Lane was named around 1645, after 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. Battersea Power Station was later 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.

Real Estate Opportunities were granted permission to redevelop the power station in November 2010. Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms, London.jpg
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; [5] [6] the new embassy was completed in December 2017, and began operating in January 2018. [7]

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". [8] In 2014, it was reported that Ballymore had engaged Lazard and CBRE Group to raise about €2.5bn to fund the Embassy Gardens development. [9]

Houseboat in Nine Elms Houseboat, Nine Elms - geograph.org.uk - 617367.jpg
Houseboat in Nine Elms

Regeneration of the area around Battersea Power Station started in 2013, with the power station structure secured by 2016. [10] [11] The Power Station building opened in October 2022. It contains shopping and leisure facilities, office space and housing. [12] To service the area, Nine Elms tube station, on the London Underground, opened in September 2021, as part of an extension of the Northern line from Kennington. [13]

Governance

Previously a part of Queenstown Ward, in 2022 Nine Elms ward was created. The next local election is scheduled to take place in May 2026.

Transport

Since 2021, the area has been served by Nine Elms station on the Northern line of the London Underground.

In 2015, Wandsworth council chose a design by Bystrup for a £40m pedestrian bridge between Nine Elms and Pimlico, [14] [15] [16] although as of 2021 there are no firm plans to construct this.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pimlico</span> Human settlement in England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vauxhall Bridge</span> Arch bridge in central London

Vauxhall Bridge is a Grade II* listed steel and granite deck arch bridge in central London. It crosses the River Thames in a southeast–northwest direction between Vauxhall on the south bank and Pimlico on the north bank. Opened in 1906, it replaced an earlier bridge, originally known as Regent Bridge but later renamed Vauxhall Bridge, built between 1809 and 1816 as part of a scheme for redeveloping the south bank of the Thames. The bridge was built at a location in the river previously served by a ferry.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grosvenor Bridge</span> Railway bridge over the River Thames in London

Grosvenor Bridge, originally known as, and alternatively called Victoria Railway Bridge, is a railway bridge over the River Thames in London, between Vauxhall Bridge and Chelsea Bridge. Originally constructed in 1860, and widened in 1865 and 1907, the bridge was extensively rebuilt and widened again in the 1960s as an array of ten parallel bridges. There are now eight tracks across the bridge.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">A3036 road</span> Road in southwest London

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Elms Locomotive Works</span>

Nine Elms Locomotive Works were built in 1839 by the London and South Western Railway (LSWR) adjoining their passenger terminus near the Vauxhall end of Nine Elms Lane, in the district of Nine Elms in the London Borough of Battersea. They were rebuilt in 1841 and remained the principal locomotive carriage and wagon workshops of the railway until closure in stages between 1891 and 1909. Thereafter a large steam motive power depot remained open on the site until 1967, serving Waterloo railway station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern line extension to Battersea</span> London Underground construction project

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Elms tube station</span> London Underground station

Nine Elms is a London Underground station in Nine Elms, London. It opened on 20 September 2021 as part of the Northern line extension to Battersea. The station serves the rapidly growing area, New Covent Garden Market and the Embassy of the United States.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct</span> Railway viaduct in south London, England

The Nine Elms to Waterloo Viaduct is a large Victorian railway viaduct in south London. The viaduct is 2 miles (3.2 km) in length and carries the South West Main Line into Waterloo station. Initially constructed in 1848, the viaduct begins in Nine Elms and with an intermediate station at Vauxhall incorporated within the viaduct, the viaduct terminates at Waterloo. The viaduct comprises six iron girder bridges, with a combined weight of 800 long tons, and over 290 arches. The brick sections of the viaduct are composed of some 80,000,000 bricks. The viaduct is managed by Network Rail, who in turn lease many of the arches for commercial, retail and industrial use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Windsor lines of the London and South Western Railway</span> Railways in south-west London, England

The Windsor lines of the London and South Western Railway ran from Waterloo to Windsor via Richmond, with a loop via Hounslow. They started as the Richmond Railway, a simple independent branch line, but they developed a distinct identity and had their own approach to Waterloo alongside the Main Lines, and a distinct section of Waterloo station. The Richmond Railway was extended to Windsor by the Windsor, Staines, and South Western Railway; the company built a loop line via Hounslow in addition. Both independent companies were absorbed into the LSWR.

References

  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. "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.
  6. Lawless, Jill (2 October 2008). "US to build new embassy in suburban London". USA Today .
  7. "Location of the US Embassy London". usembassy.gov. Retrieved 29 April 2018.
  8. "Embassy Gardens plans approved". Wandsworth Council. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012.
  9. Webb, Nick (24 May 2014). "Mulryan is close to wiping slate clean". independent.ie. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  10. Booth, Robert (20 June 2008). "Latest plans for Battersea power station revealed". The Guardian . Retrieved 11 March 2009.
  11. Whitten, Nick (24 March 2009). "Battersea Power Station regeneration to go to planning" . Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  12. "Battersea Power Station opens after decades of decay". BBC News. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2024.
  13. "TfL applies for Northern line extension legal powers". Railway Gazette International . 30 April 2013.
  14. Wainwright, Oliver (25 November 2015). "Public fury as new bridge across the Thames announced at Nine Elms". The Guardian.
  15. "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)
  16. "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.