Arts & Culture  Features

A year in Nine Elms: looking back at 2021

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Published on
December 16, 2021

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2021 marked a year of firsts for Nine Elms: the Northern line extension opened at Battersea and Nine Elms, fantastic community projects and events filled the streets, along with exciting improvements to the public realm. We’ve gathered some of the highlights of a remarkable year that was the culmination of over a decade of planning!

Flick through our image gallery to look back at those standout moments or scroll further down to read about some of the exciting changes and events in Nine Elms.

January: First glimpse of a Tube train running along new tracks on the Northern line extension

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Test train at Nine Elms. Image credit: TfL

January 

TfL’s trials for the Northern line extension run smoothly, and we get the first glimpse of a Tube train running along the tracks.


February 

Architecture and design studio Projects Office won the competition to design gateways for the new Arch 42 route and the Nine Elms district heating network was connected to the US Embassy energy centre to create a more sustainable supply.


March 

Ahead of opening to the public in 2022, Battersea Power Station revealed their chimney glass lift experience which will give 360° views of London.


April 

Theatre 503 engage new writing talent in Battersea and Nine Elms ahead of the June announcement that Theatre503 would be a new ‘cultural anchor’ tenant in Nine Elms, moving into a new studio space in 2022.


May 

Exciting Tube news as TfL announce that the new Northern line stations being built at Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms will be in London Underground Zone 1. 


June 

Designs for the new linear Nine Elms Park, insight into creating the new Arch 42 route, and celebrating Nine Elms ‘gateways’ including Thessaly Road rail bridge, were highlighted at London Festival of Architecture 2021 with a series of events. 


July 

The neighbourhoods around Thessaly Road came to life with local communities, schools and neighbours enjoying Happy Streets festival during Wandsworth Arts Fringe 2021.


August 

The former Battersea gasworks near the river was transformed into landscaped housing, with 99 high quality affordable homes completed at the Prince of Wales Drive development.


September 

Tube opens in Battersea and Nine Elms! The Northern line extension joins the London Underground map as trains carry passengers for the first time in the first major Tube extension this century. 


October 

Sky beams and dazzling projections lit up the streets of Battersea and Nine Elms for Line of Light, a two-day festival along the route of the newly-opened Northern line extension to Kennington. 

MyLo building with colourful projections next to a light beam into the sky near Arch42 at the Line of Light festival. Image credit: Wandsworth Council/David Cotter

MyLo building near Arch42 at the Line of Light festival. Image credit: Wandsworth Council/David Cotter

Watch the Line of Light festival video.


November 

Rescued from dereliction, Battersea Power Station finally came off the ‘heritage at risk’ list thanks to careful planning, construction and partnership working with Wandsworth Council and Historic England.

Credit: Charlie Round-Turner


December

At the New London Awards 2021, designs for the new primary school and nursery planned for the growing population in Nine Elms was ‘highly commended’ by an International Jury.

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