Two new tube stations at Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station were opened to the public today (20 September), after a decade in the making.
The Northern Line extension is the first major addition to London’s underground network this century, and has been delivered through a £1.1bn investment from Transport for London.
The extension will unlock major development in south London, expecting to provide 25,000 jobs and 20,000 homes.
The last extension to the Northern Line was in 1926, with the addition of Morden station. The plans for a station in Battersea were first mooted by Transport for London in 2009 as a way to unlock the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area. Construction finally kicked off in 2015, with a 3km extension from Kenington.
It is a major milestone for Battersea Power Station, decades after the first development brief was issued. Initial plans for an amusement park were ditched in favour of mixed-use space with residential on the 42-acre site.
After a series of setbacks and changing ownership, Malaysian investors SP Setia, Sime Darby and EPF bought the site for £400m in 2011. The Battersea Power Station development comprises 3.5m sq ft of commercial space and 4,239 new homes on the river. The first phase of the £9bn project, Circus West Village, opened to residents in 2017. This year the decommissioned power station has begun a phased completion, with the iconic project to open next year.
Meanwhile at Nine Elms, various schemes from developers including R&F Properties, Greystar and more recently London Square and Moda Living have been brought forward.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps said: “London’s world-famous Tube network has two new stations from today, the first stops to be added so far this century, with names that will soon become familiar to Londoners as they return to public transport after the pandemic.”
Dato’ Ahmad Pardas Senin, chairman of Battersea Project Holding Company, added: “This is a proud day for Malaysia and all those involved in transforming the historic iconic Power Station and its surrounding area, being the largest Malaysian investment in the United Kingdom into a new destination where people can live, work and enjoy.”
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