Nine Elms, SW8 & SW11

Nine Elms in South London is a large riverside district straddling the boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth. Boasting an extensive range of up-market residential properties and two new Underground stations, Nine Elms has emerged as one of the top Central London living and investment destinations.

Set along the south banks of the Thames, Nine Elms stretches from Vauxhall Bridge to Battersea Power Station and Battersea Park. The area borders with Vauxhall to the east, Battersea to the west, and South Lambeth to the south.  

The riverside section of Nine Elms is defined by the contemporary architecture and is punctuated with high-rise buildings often arranged in clusters. To the west is the landmark Victorian Battersea Power station building which is enclosed by modern residential schemes. South of the main railway line, which cuts through the area and links Clapham Junction and Waterloo, are the remains of the 1950s and 1960s low rise estates including Patmore Estate, Savona, and Carey Gardens.

Nine Elms is part of the 227-ha large Vauxhall, Nine Elms, and Battersea ‘Opportunity Area’. Designated in 2004, it is one of the largest regeneration and investment zones in Central London. Planned as a modern city destination on the banks of the Thames, the area will deliver over 20,000 new homes, 25,000 new jobs, a 3km long river path, new parks and public spaces.

Although predominantly residential, Nine Elms remains an area with many heritage remnants from its Victorian industrial past. The rail arches and viaducts which are part of the active railway network, are in commercial use today and house various workshops and small trade businesses.

History

Nine Elms was an agricultural freehold land up until the 19th century. The name Nine Elms has been linked to elm trees growing in the area and to a 17^th century hamlet with a farm and brewhouse located off the main road to Wandsworth. At the time, the district comprised many windmills and gardens growing vegetables and flowers for the London markets. From mid-1850s the name Nine Elms extended to cover the whole riverside land stretching from Vauxhall to Battersea.

Nine Elms started its industrial life with the opening of a London rail terminus in 1838 on the site later occupied by the New Covent Garden Market. The Southampton Railway company used the site for various workshops and depots and extended the rail to Waterloo ten years later.  From then, the district was a large site for handling market goods and various rail and water trade maintenance works.

Railway lines, viaducts and gasholders were dominant structures of the industrial Nine Elms.

Nine Elms Gas Works, built in 1858 employed 800 people. It closed in 1970, when Britain converted to natural gas. The rail terminus was closed in 1948 and was replaced by New Covent Garden’s flower market built in 1974.

The decline and closure of long-established industries left a large area vacant in Nine Elms. So, in In 2004 a new plan for the Vauxhall, Nine Elms, and Battersea Opportunity Area was set up.

The plan included more than 42 building projects, infrastructure, transport, offices, education, entertainment, parks, and new homes. In 2010 Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership was formed followed by a masterplan detailing the transformation from an industrial land into a new residential and business destination.

By 2020 a string of prime residential-led mixed-use developments completed in Nine Elms including Riverlight, Embassy Gardens, Sky Gardens, Nine Elms Square and Lexicon Gardens.

Major catalysts driving the regeneration of Nine Elms district are the new US Embassy in London (opened in January 2018) and the Northern line extension, including Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms station (opened in September 2021), and the Food and Horticulture business Quarter incorporating the New Covent Garden Market and Food Exchange completing in 2027. 

Culture and entertainment

The culture and entertainment in Nine Elms is supported by the established local community as well as the new businesses closely involved in its ongoing regeneration and transformation. Large scale cultural and sports events are held at the nearby Battersea Power Station or Battersea Park.

Quality local community projects and festivals are regularly scheduled in Nine Elms and are packed with exhibitions, performances, education programmes and other events taking place in various locations throughout the neighbourhood. They include the Happy Street Festival, Free summer jazz session at the Nine Elms Pavilion on the banks of the River Thames or the Embassy Gardens Feel Good Festival.

Some of the recently relocated new businesses in Nine Elms include the Penguin Random House in Embassy Gardens, and Mission Kitchen – a shared workspace, built to support independent food and drink businesses with regular workshops and events for food professionals.

There are new art studios in New Union Square (Embassy Gardens) such as Nine Elms Film and Photography Studios, World Heartbeat Music Academy, Matt’s Gallery, and Troy House Art Foundation.  

Nine Elms is one of the best central London locations to explore a variety of new, architecturally notable London buildings. From Riverlight on the Thames by the world-renowned architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, to the landmark Sky Pool at the Embassy Gardens by the award-winning structural engineers Eckersley O'Callaghan and HAL Architects, Nine Elms is dotted with landmarks.

One of the biggest attractions that draws visitors to Nine Elms is the New Covent Garden Market. Set in Nine Elms since 1974 as a vibrant centre for fresh food and flower wholesale and distribution, the market is also the biggest employer in the area. The most attractive section is the 425,000 square-foot Flower Market, the only dedicated wholesale flower market in the UK. The Flower Market is expanding and will have in its own large home quarters in the new Food Exchanged completing in 2027.

The Vauxhall Street market on Battersea Park Road is London’s biggest outdoor Sunday market. This well-established trade place has a tremendous range of stalls selling anything from food and clothing to home accessories and merchandise.

The Nine Elms master plan includes the creation of a new 4.5-ha Nine Elms Linear Park which is built in stages through Battersea and Nine Elms. Also, there are new green spaces and public realm improvements including a large riverside path section. A public route between the Nine Elms Northern line station and the Thames have also been created to allow unrestricted movement between the neighbourhoods separated by the railway.

New Homes and developments:

Apex 1

Damac Tower

Embassy Gardens

London Square Nine Elms

MyLo

Nine Elms Point

One Nine Elms

Thames City

Twenty Two

The Residence

Vauxhall Sky Gardens

Council: Lambeth, Wandsworth

For an up-to-date Lambeth council tax bands and charges see HERE

For an up-to-date Wandsworth council tax bands and charges see HERE

Transport (Zone 1):

There are two London Underground stations servicing Northern line trains:

Nine Elms Station & Battersea Power Station

This is a 3.2km branch line from Kennington linking Nine Elms with Westminster, the City and Leicester Square.

Busses:

77 to Tooting Station

87 to Aldwych and Wandsworth

196 to Elephant and Castle and Norwood Junction

452 to Vauxhall and Ladbroke Grove

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