Published on
July 7, 2020
The Leader of Wandsworth Council has spoken of the importance of green space when building new housing as he attended a topping out ceremony for 229 new affordable homes at Prince of Wales Drive, Battersea.
The ceremony marked the completion of construction of the first affordable homes on the former gasholders site at the St William scheme, a joint venture between National Grid and the Berkeley Group in Nine Elms.
The new affordable homes are available as one, two and three-bedroom apartments managed by housing association Clarion Housing.
Cllr Ravi Govindia, Leader of London Borough of Wandsworth, said: “After a brief pause, regeneration of Nine Elms has resumed. I am delighted to welcome a further delivery of affordable housing and am pleased that almost a quarter of this development will be homes at affordable rent levels or for shared ownership.
“We want local families and residents to have a decent, affordable place to live with good transport links and space for leisure nearby. Time spent in lockdown has shown us how important green space is for our wellbeing, so it’s good to see that when these homes open in 2022 residents will have access to new gardens as well as nearby Battersea Park and the newly re-opened riverside path.”
Councillor Ravi Govindia joined Chairman of St William Sean Ellis, the Managing Director of St William Alison Dowsett, and Dean Summers who is Managing Director for St William London South, along with delivery partner Tim Seward, Director of Sales at Clarion Housing and Phil Edwards for National Grid.
Set just off Prince of Wales Drive, 161 of the apartments are available to buy with shared ownership and 68 will be available with affordable rent.
St William is the second phase of Prince of Wales Drive, delivering 955 new homes in total across 11 residential pavilions, alongside 100,000 sq ft of new commercial space and 65,000 sq ft of office space – transforming the five-acre site.
Half of the scheme will feature green open space and public realm, creating a welcoming and attractive place to live, work and spend time near the river in Battersea. Renowned landscape architects Gillespies designed the high-quality gardens, using materials that reference the scheme’s proximity to the iconic Battersea Park.
Sean Ellis, Chairman of St William said: “This is a key milestone in delivering Prince of Wales Drive and the transformation of one of Battersea’s former industrial landmarks into a thriving new community. The topping out of two new residential buildings celebrates the first affordable homes in this new Zone 1 neighbourhood and demonstrates good quality partnerships with the London Borough of Wandsworth and Clarion Housing, to deliver homes across a range of tenures of the highest calibre.”
Tim Seward, Director of Sales, Clarion Housing said: “Clarion is delighted to be working with St William and the London Borough of Wandsworth on such a prestigious, landmark development. The 229 affordable homes will have a significant impact on meeting housing need in the borough, through both shared ownership and intermediate rent. Both affordable options mean residents at different income levels have an opportunity to live in this flagship scheme. Our first residents are already settled in their new homes and enjoying being part of the development and local community.”
Find out more about the Berkeley development at Prince of Wales Drive
Caption for top image: L-R – Dean Summers (MD for St William London South), Sean Ellis (Chairman of St William), Alison Dowsett (MD of St William), Wandsworth Council Leader Cllr Ravi Govindia, Phil Edwards (Director of National Grid Property) and Tim Seward (Director of Sales at Clarion Housing).