Vinci and St Modwen win planning for Nine Elms resi tower

Vinci and St Modwen have been given the go ahead for their 26-storey residential tower in Nine Elms, SW8. The Apex 1 scheme will comprise 201 new homes and 5,250 sq ft of retail space on land released as a result of the VSM joint venture’s redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market. The site, adjacent to the Nine Elms Tube station and close to the new US Embassy, forms a key part of the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Zone. Designed by Glenn Howells Architects, Apex 1 is the first building of the wider Apex development site, which has outline consent for a further 422 homes and 66,000 sq ft of commercial space. VSM said Apex 1 would be a “near net zero” development, incorporating “an architecturally distinctive” two-storey pavilion to house ground-floor retail and a first-floor amenity area for residents, as well as a roof garden. The development will include significant public realm, including a landscaped pedestrian link – Merchants Way – between the Nine Elms Linear Park and Nine Elms Tube station. The site is one of four surplus land sites which form part of the ongoing transformation of New Covent Garden Market by the VSM partnership under a development agreement with Covent Garden Market Association. Nick Smith, senior development manager at St Modwen, said: “Apex 1 promises to be a high-quality new scheme for Nine Elms. This latest planning decision means we can deliver new homes for the area while achieving another important milestone for the transformation of New Covent Garden Market.” Graham Lambert, managing director at Vinci UK Developments, added: “This planning consent represents a key milestone for the VSM Partnership and the redevelopment of New Covent Garden Market, and highlights our key priority of designing sustainable developments which create a positive legacy.” To send feedback, e-mail piers.wehner@eg.co.uk or tweet @PiersWehner or @EGPropertyNews Image © Glenn Howells Architects