L AP H ANG T ONG
A resident’s take on Nine Elms
In 2014, Nine Elms was branded “the last and greatest single prospect for regeneration in central London" by Boris Johnson, former mayor of London. However, the area between Vauxhall and Battersea has recently become the symbol of the housing crisis. This is due to the fact that developments such as the 50-storey St George Wharf Tower (see photo) in Vauxhall have no affordable housing and are two-thirds foreign owned, leaving many angered by the shortage of affordable housing in London as well as influx of foreign buyers who have priced them out. Looking at the future of Nine Elms, it seems that The Tower may be an extreme example of the housing crisis. With many developments set to be completed over the coming years, the image of Nine Elms should not be based on a single development. Although some have voiced their objections when it comes to the aesthetics a cluster of skyscrapers may bring about to the area, there is no denying the fact that in order to reduce the shortage of housing, developers must either build outwards resulting in the expansion of the city or upwards by making use of brownfield sites such as Nine Elms given its industrial heritage. Around 35,000 people are expected to move into new developments in the area with 25,000 permanent new jobs being created. Of the 18,000 new homes being built, around 4,000 will be affordable housing with rents being priced at around 64% of average market rents across the
borough on the side of Nine Elms closer to Wandsworth. This shows that there are plans in place to provide more affordable housing and ease the problems faced by many. With regards to foreign buyers, locals have been upset as some buyers purchase houses in the area with no intention of actually living in them. Instead, these houses are bought on the sole purpose of keeping them as investments and thus there are many perfectly habitable houses wasted with The Tower being the prime example. However, this is not the case with every development in the area. For example, Embassy Gardens is another development down the road and like The Tower, Embassy Gardens also has a large proportion of foreign buyers. However, unlike The Tower, it has a high occupancy rate of approximately 85% as many owners are either occupants themselves or rent their property out to tenants. This has resulted in residents not being limited to foreigners with locals being included as well. Furthermore, had these developments in Nine Elms not existed, many current residents would be residents elsewhere in central London. Therefore, it would be unfair to say that developments in Nine Elms have not contributed to reducing some aspects of the problems faced in the current housing market.
Following the results of the EU referendum and the United Kingdom’s momentous decision to leave the European Union, property in Nine Elms may well face a dip in demand. This could cast further doubt into the successful regeneration of the area with the fear that there will be excess supply of luxury homes out of the reach of many, leaving the area with a sense of emptiness. Nevertheless, with everything in mind, it may be premature to brand Nine Elms as the symbol of all that is wrong with the housing market and merely a playground for wealthy foreign individuals.
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