{"id":11645,"date":"2021-02-08T06:09:41","date_gmt":"2021-02-08T14:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11645"},"modified":"2021-02-10T05:30:30","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T13:30:30","slug":"issue-of-the-week-104","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=11645","title":{"rendered":"Issue of the Week: Economic Opportunity"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11651\" src=\"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-2-300x180.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-2-300x180.png 300w, https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-2-150x90.png 150w, https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-2-768x461.png 768w, https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-2-1024x614.png 1024w, https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-2.png 1300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-11649\" src=\"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-300x169.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image-150x84.png 150w, https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/image.png 645w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 8pt;\"><em>Penthouses and poor doors<\/em>, The Guardian, 4 Feb 2021<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As London has become another hot spot central in the never-ending world of Covid-19 and the fastest globally spreading variant at the moment, penthouses in construction which were supposed to be part of a project to bring more affordable housing to those in need has a protest sticker attached with the words: \u201cMAKE THE RICH PAY FOR COVID-19\u201d<\/p>\n<p>How do a socialist former mayor of London and a conservative former mayor of London, currently prime minister of the UK, end up enabling the same thing over two decades&#8211;the inequality of housing, of wealth, of the ownership of land, of everything, epitomized in a project advertised as the opposite, as\u00a0Europe&#8217;s &#8220;biggest regeneration project&#8221;?<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s how&#8211;when the policy is not part of systemic policies designed to achieve the end with certainty, but rather is part of a system designed to achieve the opposite of equality and security for all.<\/p>\n<p>As we&#8217;ve said, labels don&#8217;t mean anything by themselves.<\/p>\n<p>The Long Read in The Guardian a few days ago tells a story worth knowing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2021\/feb\/02\/penthouses-poor-doors-nine-elms-battersea-london-luxury-housing-development\"><em>Penthouses and poor doors: how Europe&#8217;s &#8216;biggest regeneration project&#8217; fell flat<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>by <span class=\"css-15zwths\">Oliver Wainwright, The Long Read, The Guardian, London, 4 Feb 2021<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em>Few places have seen such turbocharged luxury development as Nine Elms on the London riverside. So why are prices tumbling, investors melting away and promises turning to dust?<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-15ibrj7\">\n<div class=\"css-eftdyl\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector css-79elbk article-body-viewer-selector\">\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\"><span class=\"css-hi9njr\"><span class=\"css-1ljoi60\">E<\/span><\/span><span class=\"css-38z03z\">very morning, when Nadeem Iqbal wakes up and walks into his living room, he has a view of a miraculous world first. A crisp oblong of crystal clear water now hangs in the air between two apartment buildings opposite his balcony, a liquid blue block suspended against the sky with the gravity-defying quality of a Magritte painting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">This is the <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.embassygardens.com\/galleries\/sky-pool\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Sky Pool<\/a>, the latest addition to the luxury residential enclave of Embassy Gardens in Nine Elms, south-west London \u2013 one absurdist step beyond the private cinema, indoor pool, gym and rooftop lounge bar. It was <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/architecture-design-blog\/2015\/aug\/20\/london-sky-pool-trend-swimming-oligarch\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">dismissed<\/a> as a \u201ccrackers\u201d PR stunt when the plan was unveiled by Irish developer Ballymore in 2015, a fantastical aquarium of captive high net worth individuals for the rest of us to gawp at from far below. Surely it would never materialise. But last week the scaffolding was taken down to reveal a bright blue rectangle hovering against the leaden January skies, 10 storeys up in the air \u2013 just outside the 30-metre bomb blast <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2017\/dec\/13\/us-embassy-proves-a-catalyst-for-15bn-nine-elms-regeneration-project\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">seclusion zone<\/a> around the new neighbouring US embassy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">It has been billed as the world\u2019s first swimming-pool bridge, a dazzling feat of acrylic engineering that will span the 14-metre gap between the two buildings and give residents the feeling of \u201cfloating through the air in central London\u201d. But, although he lives in Embassy Gardens, Iqbal and his neighbours will never enjoy the thrill of going for an aerial dip. \u201cWe have a front-row seat of the Sky Pool,\u201d he told me. \u201cBut the sad thing for us, living in the shared-ownership building, is that we will never have access to it. It\u2019s only there for us to look at, just like the nice lobby, and all of the other facilities for the residents of the private blocks. Nobody expects these amenities for free, but we\u2019re not even given the choice to pay for them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">For Iqbal to reach his two-bed flat \u2013 valued at \u00a3800,000, of which he owns a quarter and pays rent on the rest \u2013 he must walk past the grand, hotel-style main entrance to the complex, flanked by supercars with personalised number plates, to the back of the development, past construction fences and piles of rubble, to a small door located between ventilation grilles and a bin store, facing on to a railway line. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason they\u2019re called <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2018\/nov\/25\/poor-doors-developers-segregate-rich-from-poor-london-housing-blocks\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u2018poor doors\u2019<\/a>,\u201d he said. \u201cI grew up in South Africa, in a country that was racially segregated, but in London there is still really bad class segregation. We have a mortgage and we pay our rent, but every day we are made to feel inferior, like the have-nots of Nine Elms.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=8a80c4722b749890e1cd6d0bd7038200 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=628d5366decd2f94a2ae0f879470295b 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=fd4a62fc94f141ca14c7e38dca630d66 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=fd4a62fc94f141ca14c7e38dca630d66 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=f6f2743de83e5e0974f6e3614851a93c 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=1f45d0bfb3a059c924e8caed8496e06f 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=3d1a3ddecce89d4a39a0b87c955a599a 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=7c4eb555e77b57977f93cbe1278b476b 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=da0e55ca9ee502246d537a4f6339b669 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=53cbb98776e4f32efb60b7945f66d859 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=53cbb98776e4f32efb60b7945f66d859 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=fd442e0dd9bd675b08f9f984b234543a 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=60c9263074c1b41b6cea97af18539431 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=0a6bcf5ac213121d8685b219eb7b32b9 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/08bc0937709373be91c2fa537538394b38d9ea80\/0_0_6000_4000\/master\/6000.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=3d1a3ddecce89d4a39a0b87c955a599a\" alt=\"The Sky Pool being installed at Embassy Gardens, London\" width=\"6000\" height=\"4000\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">The Sky Pool being installed at Embassy Gardens.<\/span> Photograph: Miles Willis\/Getty Images for EcoWorld Ballymore<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Stretching across a 230-hectare riverside swath from Vauxhall Cross to Battersea Power Station, straddling the boroughs of Lambeth and Wandsworth, the Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea (VNEB) \u201copportunity area\u201d has been trumpeted as the biggest regeneration project in Europe. When Boris Johnson, as mayor of London, <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2012\/nov\/11\/nine-elms-south-bank-regeneration\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">launched<\/a> the plans in 2012, he described it as \u201cthe greatest transformational story in the world\u2019s greatest city\u201d, the \u201cfinal piece in the jigsaw\u201d of central London. Once a place of low-slung warehouses and logistics depots, it is now a very visible presence on the London skyline. Competing stacks of luxury flats have sprouted along the river, replacing the elm trees that once stood here with a forest of concrete and cladding, a garish collage of mirrored glass, coloured plastic panels and <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ollywainwright\/status\/885530224200482816\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">fake bricks<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline1\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--inline1 ad-slot--outstream ad-slot--rendered\" data-link-name=\"ad slot inline1\" data-name=\"inline1\" data-mobile=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|fluid\" data-phablet=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-desktop=\"1,1|2,2|300,250|300,274|620,1|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-google-query-id=\"CIipgbav3-4CFeYtrQYduQsJog\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot__label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">With around 5,000 homes completed over the past five years, and a further 15,000 in the pipeline, it is now possible to get a sense of what kind of place is being created here, what effect the planning policies of the past decade will have in reality. The results so far are not encouraging. Roughly the size of Monaco, the new district has all the makings of a similarly exclusive fiefdom, an international investors\u2019 playground where regular Londoners are pushed to the very edges, or cut out of the picture altogether.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">The capital is well used to high-rise, high-end totems by now, but VNEB takes the iniquities of the real estate-industrial complex to extremes. It is a place where penthouses with <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2016\/may\/24\/revealed-foreign-buyers-own-two-thirds-of-tower-st-george-wharf-london\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">private chapels<\/a> and running tracks loom above crumbling council estates across the railway line, where scores of flats lie empty, held by secretive shell companies in off-shore <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2017\/jun\/13\/foreign-investors-snapping-up-london-homes-suitable-for-first-time-buyers\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">tax havens<\/a>, and where the division between absentee investors and owner-occupiers confined to poor doors could not be more stark. Dogged by allegations of cronyism and gerrymandering, it is the product of politicians in thrall to property developers, driven by a blind faith in the market \u2013 even when investors started to realise that they might have bought into a mirage.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-zpw1ql\" \/>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\"><span class=\"css-hi9njr\"><span class=\"css-1ljoi60\">A<\/span><\/span><span class=\"css-38z03z\">ll along the railway line, running south-west from Vauxhall to Battersea, stand dense rows of apartment blocks similar to Iqbal\u2019s \u2013 the \u201caffordable\u201d components of the luxury developments, shuffled to the back of the plots where land values are lowest, hidden from view along with the garages and service entrances. It is the same story across the road, where the angular blocks of the Riverlight development march along the Thames, along with a shared-ownership building that, for the last few years, has faced on to the noise and dust of the construction site for London\u2019s new \u201csuper-sewer\u201d. Brightly coloured vents and glass elevators reveal that this comes from the stable of architects <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rsh-p.com\/projects\/riverlight\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Rogers Stirk Harbour<\/a>, but the stylistic add-ons do little to disguise the reality of serried slabs of investment units garnished with fenced-off slivers of lawn \u2013 where neither pets nor ball games are allowed.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline2\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--offset-right ad-slot--inline2 ad-slot--rendered\" data-link-name=\"ad slot inline2\" data-name=\"inline2\" data-mobile=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|fluid\" data-phablet=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-desktop=\"1,1|2,2|300,250|300,274|620,1|620,350|550,310|fluid|300,600|160,600\" data-google-query-id=\"CNi85fmx3-4CFVIU5wodcbcMKw\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot__label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Next to Embassy Gardens stands <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theresidencelondon.com\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">The Residence<\/a>, by Bellway Homes, offering \u201celegant Manhattan-style living\u201d in a series of brick towers jazzed up with gaudy red and yellow panels. A broad staircase leads up from the street to a podium garden, but a tall fence with an electric gate stops the second-class residents from getting in. \u201cWe are strategically excluded from being part of the community,\u201d said Jason Owusu-Frimpong, who lives in part of The Residence facing the railway line, managed by housing association L&amp;Q. \u201cWe would happily pay for gym membership, if we were allowed to, but the management says it\u2019s not for us. Meanwhile, the car park they told us was only for disabled use is now being sold off to wealthy international residents.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=23d2e251615ff533727f7dd7922e8edb 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=ea0270da4d198eae98be2f88ca62aa32 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=565f2523f74e35833ed9302af330c655 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=565f2523f74e35833ed9302af330c655 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=575466f4f188a12f9254d0d6c2bae7da 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=b6aa31a9bfc922b3915b27f73da635a7 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=c8759459b0f2619f476423765fa106cb 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=9119d19eff683db58aaed329b9383063 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=8dc392eb5c0d637dac5d01b5e0465481 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=287d858fa616ba290443a9605a02f7dd 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=287d858fa616ba290443a9605a02f7dd 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=04d8345b8d8638e9302250d3ae524355 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=fec01c17d6622b050c4ec92d8a347e83 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=54b76fcc41de3d812b17778b081e6e29 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e68aaf22b6d6a12b2c120f2d2eb66a78772d8c95\/0_0_3400_2267\/master\/3400.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=c8759459b0f2619f476423765fa106cb\" alt=\"Construction ongoing at Nine Elms.\" width=\"3400\" height=\"2267\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">Construction ongoing at Nine Elms.<\/span> Photograph: Justin Tallis\/AFP via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">A few metres from his front door sit a pair of souped-up sports cars with Qatari number plates, parked ostentatiously on the pavement blocking an emergency exit, with a clutch of unpaid parking tickets flapping in the breeze beneath their windscreen wipers. The concierge is exasperated. \u201cThey are deliberately doing this,\u201d said the man behind the desk in the private building\u2019s lobby, to which Owusu-Frimpong and his neighbours are denied entry. \u201cWe have sent endless letters to the residents in question, but there\u2019s nothing we can do about it. They come here from the Gulf for a few months of the year in holiday mode, race up and down the road, revving their engines late at night, then they ship their cars back home and never pay the fines.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">VNEB is emerging as a place of two communities, with a bitter sense of division nurtured by the very fabric of the neighbourhood. The exclusion has been designed into the buildings, streets and public spaces, and is enforced by the private management regimes that govern them. If it is an opportunity area, it has been an opportunity for trialling a new form of social apartheid on an industrial scale.<\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline3\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--offset-right ad-slot--inline3 ad-slot--rendered\" data-link-name=\"ad slot inline3\" data-name=\"inline3\" data-mobile=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|fluid\" data-phablet=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-desktop=\"1,1|2,2|300,250|300,274|620,1|620,350|550,310|fluid|300,600|160,600\" data-google-query-id=\"CI2l0Pmx3-4CFVMHrQYduP4PWA\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot__label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Andrea Franzel lives in an apartment in the Chancery building of Embassy Gardens, a shared ownership block managed by the Peabody housing association. After months of navigating dense bureaucracy, as chair of the residents\u2019 association, he secured some funding to buy a painting for the building\u2019s bleak communal lobby, along with a mirror and a small console table. But, after three years, Peabody\u2019s neighbourhood manager ruled that the table was a fire hazard, and had it removed. \u201cIt sounds like a small thing,\u201d said Franzel, \u201cbut that little table was part of our community. We used to buy fresh flowers and leave things for each other. Now we have nothing.\u201d Next door, the lobby for the private residents looks like a club-class lounge, teeming with expensive hazards, from the thick-pile carpets to marble coffee tables and inviting sofas. While these residents get packages delivered to their door, Franzel and his neighbours find their parcels often go missing, dumped in a pile downstairs. Since the pandemic struck, only the lift lobbies of the private blocks have been supplied with pumps of hand sanitiser.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=9e1159f9079de8f016cc2654ebdd6396 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=4ef4adc2d942bda3da0a16f4bc5badb9 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=1fde035b4a52d9020a07d94b2284da20 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=1fde035b4a52d9020a07d94b2284da20 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=d14395d58dc8fdded2e03c0d84417072 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=a4f45364fa86cbbf0a4eb17cc598c081 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=9ac7f1f467e81d34aba63ca119d432ac 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=d027e03734d6f02f4b782f261d6c826b 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=4e9a9f0a45b7a9538f71890a77dbe998 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=fe6d253c634cb951e6bd625f695afdab 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=fe6d253c634cb951e6bd625f695afdab 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=c479b61ef59812b913e64c3255f58caa 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=4008d9396c34b9527f51c55f4167831c 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=55b8bce9d54bed60fbae5f49fa028bfc 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/9d823c99f08352bfe8aade1a57ed89fa114e01e2\/0_0_6476_3648\/master\/6476.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=9ac7f1f467e81d34aba63ca119d432ac\" alt=\"The different entrances for the affordable housing (left) and private (right) sections of Embassy Gardens\" width=\"6476\" height=\"3648\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">The different entrances for the affordable housing (left) and private (right) sections of Embassy Gardens<\/span>Photograph: Oliver Wainwright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Residents on both sides have reported a host of issues with the buildings\u2019 construction quality, from broken windows and doors to sinks that weren\u2019t connected to waste pipes when they moved in, leading to serious internal leaks \u2013 an ongoing catalogue of calamities reported by a pair of Instagram accounts, <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/real_embassygardens\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">@real_embassygardens<\/a> and <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/ballymorehell\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">@ballymorehell<\/a>. Private leaseholders are just as furious, leaving online <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trustpilot.com\/review\/www.ballymoregroup.com?search=embassy\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">reviews<\/a> raging about everything from poor workmanship to extortionate service charges and \u201cmonopolistic\u201d energy contracts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">A spokesperson for Ballymore says: \u201cWe aim to create great places and positive experiences for everyone who lives on our sites. All residents at Embassy Gardens receive the same service in terms of estate management, security, fire command and control, general building safety and energy supply.\u201d They stress that the affordable housing blocks are managed by Peabody and Optivo, which \u201chad the option to choose which facilities they wanted to buy into for their residents\u201d. As for the construction issues, they say: \u201cWe take any issues seriously and have two full-time aftercare managers on site, as well as a construction team completing the final residential building, so any issues can be dealt with swiftly.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline4\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--offset-right ad-slot--inline4 ad-slot--rendered\" data-link-name=\"ad slot inline4\" data-name=\"inline4\" data-mobile=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|fluid\" data-phablet=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-desktop=\"1,1|2,2|300,250|300,274|620,1|620,350|550,310|fluid|300,600|160,600\" data-google-query-id=\"CPTo-om03-4CFXgerQYdWawJew\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot__label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Spokespeople for Peabody, Optivo and L&amp;Q all say that it is never their intention to make any community feel excluded, and that their policies do not include access to the private amenities in order to keep the service charges to a minimum. They insist that these terms were made clear to residents at the point of sale. As for being given the option to pay for additional services, such as gym membership, L&amp;Q adds that \u201cfollowing feedback from residents, we are reviewing this approach\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">For Ravi Govindia, the Conservative leader of Wandsworth council since 2010, and key proponent of the area\u2019s regeneration, it is a question of choice in a free market. \u201cOne shouldn\u2019t create a deliberate division without telling people what their money buys,\u201d he said. \u201cIf people were led to believe they had access to everything, then in the small print it said otherwise, that would be wrong. But it\u2019s up to people to make their choices.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">When it comes to the criticism that the area is a ghost town, full of empty flats for foreign investors, not real homes that London needs, Govindia shrugs it off. \u201cLondon is an international city,\u201d he said. \u201cIt has always had people who don\u2019t live in their home for 365 days a year. And the reality of overseas investment from off-plan sales has, in many cases, delivered these developments.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=ad30e5f63c96a0c4394fa73339030467 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=213d56e424229662572d36dbb48a4c07 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=2f599efffab231ea85a2c281a48e8373 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=2f599efffab231ea85a2c281a48e8373 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=93989fb0d0738dbab08f2715c770253f 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=85cbaad5bdae9baedb67389add738e1d 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=6317f32eca72009c622bd3954da3a380 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=76ea7cf094b524f5be31bb496df765f4 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=aec799b715881bf6adc2f93d2cf566ac 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=e04b385e2ef897c11af1db6041652588 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=e04b385e2ef897c11af1db6041652588 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=fb0c58454b3b87313d27c5693b29a67c 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=7db5d0047ab2455e6965075bd0f0045c 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=6481a8930cd443945ff5509685fe85ef 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4196552663143f3082f7e90a18cc50637e02e808\/0_0_880_510\/master\/880.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=6317f32eca72009c622bd3954da3a380\" alt=\"A CGI render of redevelopment around Nine Elms.\" width=\"880\" height=\"510\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">A CGI render of redevelopment around Nine Elms.<\/span> Photograph: One Thames City<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">The district\u2019s supposed popularity with foreign buyers has long been held up as a sign of success, with models of the VNEB developments a regular feature at the <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2014\/mar\/14\/anger-cannes-property-fair-councils-developers-mipim\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Mipim<\/a> property trade fair in Cannes for the past decade. The primary purpose of the flats as safe deposit boxes, not homes, is evident when you look at the floor plans: this is \u201cinvestment grade space\u201d, with tiny rooms that just meet the minimum regulatory allowances, and emphasis placed on transport links and proximity to Westminster. So how attractive has this promised land actually proved to be for foreign buyers?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Not very, the data suggests \u2013 despite everything that estate agents were doing to prove otherwise. In 2016, shortly after many of the projects launched off-plan sales, property analytics firm Propcision observed a strange phenomenon. Hundreds of luxury flats in Battersea and Nine Elms were continually being listed for sale on sites such as Rightmove and Zoopla, then taken down and immediately <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/propcision.com\/blog\/repeatlistings.php\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">relisted<\/a>. It was being done at such frequency across so many developments that it distorted the market across the whole area. \u201cIt gave the impression that there was not only a lot of activity,\u201d said Propcision\u2019s director, Michelle Ricci-Zak, \u201cbut that the average price in that area was going up \u2013 when actually we proved it was going down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">In one snapshot, looking at an agency that listed 35 new-build properties for sale during an eight-month period, the constant relisting made it look as if there were in fact 368 properties for sale. Rather than roughly \u00a350m in market value of apartments advertised, the distortion would have made it appear as more than \u00a3500m. In another example, a \u00a33.6m flat was re-listed 15 times in six months, making it seem like the average asking price in the area was skyrocketing. The manufactured flurry also gave the impression to potential buyers that flats were \u201cflying off the shelves\u201d, she said, when in fact the developers were struggling to offload them. The reality was that they were selling off homes in bulk at steep discounts to corporate landlords and institutional investors, with prices slashed by up to 38%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">As off-plan customers began to suspect that they had bought into an illusion, they rushed to sell their speculative investments back to the developers, leading to a phenomenon known as \u201cNine Elms disease\u201d, as up to \u00a32m was knocked off the price of some penthouse flats. \u201cBattersea panic stations\u201d announced one <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cityam.com\/battersea-panic-stations-investors-flee-luxury-scheme-as-up-to-2m-is-knocked-off-some-asking-prices\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">headline<\/a>. While the practice of immediate relisting has now been banned, and prices have mostly stabilised, there are still signs of a glut of too many similar high-end flats, with some investors trying to dispose of entire floors of towers in Vauxhall. \u201cIt seems some people took a big bite of the pie,\u201d said Ricci-Zak, \u201cand it didn\u2019t taste so good.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-zpw1ql\" \/>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\"><span class=\"css-hi9njr\"><span class=\"css-1ljoi60\">I<\/span><\/span><span class=\"css-38z03z\">t was the 180-metre-tall <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2016\/may\/24\/st-george-wharf-tower-london-luxury-pads-emblematic-housing-crisis\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">St George Wharf Tower<\/a>, by the Berkeley Group, which began the craze for what has become a crowd of swollen shafts at this bend in the river. The tower was initially refused permission by Lambeth council, but in 2005 then-secretary of state John Prescott gave it the rubber stamp, despite warnings from his expert advisers that it \u201ccould set a precedent for the indiscriminate scattering of very tall buildings across London\u201d. And so it did.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">As you exit Vauxhall station, the first of the priapic bunch to smack you in the face is the Damac Tower, formerly known as <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/society\/2015\/jul\/22\/come-see-londons-latest-luxury-housing-venture-where-a-car-space-is-50000\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Aykon<\/a>, designed by KPF architects and developed by Damac Properties \u2013 the same firm behind Donald Trump\u2019s golf course resort in Dubai. It was billed as the very pinnacle of luxury living, \u201ca global symbol of opulence\u201d with a full-length pool on the 23rd floor and all interiors designed by Versace, offering buyers the chance to \u201clive the complete Versace lifestyle, a fantasy turned into reality\u201d. It now stands as a menacing Goliath on the edge of the Vauxhall gyratory, its lumpen blocks smothered with different cladding panels, as if several unrelated buildings have been chopped up and bolted back together without the instructions.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=2459c27ab2f99aae6042c8bc0a736865 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=2c2f4a156dedda14038b797cd1fce632 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=0bb283e1177c4b6b1bac062a950d12e2 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=0bb283e1177c4b6b1bac062a950d12e2 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=1229bd04f0f15dd8377cda25f43d1881 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=6b72b8f329c9a67a4acbd5c73b850a3c 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=6daafb6fdb988a19c4974c887274732f 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=08e11b6effb0b53235b4d859b301c186 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=8f3923cf445872cebd6102bd2676ad4f 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=d01fd20052aaea24e4135c472710d442 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=d01fd20052aaea24e4135c472710d442 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=f7c4ce0db4d260a2b9c7f878664f6cf8 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=feba917612b195a322880060c523ea66 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=2ed654a72a2c6bf47af4dce8c7611a4f 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/e0e17200e114a9221bb7bb4e0facb5b96a0ea639\/0_0_5472_3648\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=6daafb6fdb988a19c4974c887274732f\" alt=\"The \u2018Vauxhall cluster\u2019 of new towers at Nine Elms, London\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3648\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">The \u2018Vauxhall cluster\u2019.<\/span> Photograph: Oliver Wainwright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline6\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--offset-right ad-slot--inline6 ad-slot--rendered\" data-link-name=\"ad slot inline6\" data-name=\"inline6\" data-mobile=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|fluid\" data-phablet=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-desktop=\"1,1|2,2|300,250|300,274|620,1|620,350|550,310|fluid|300,600|160,600\" data-google-query-id=\"CLrU-7O03-4CFRoDrQYdEBAKzw\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot__label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Sales launched in 2015, with flats pitched at Mayfair prices, reaching more than \u00a32,000 per square foot \u2013 twice as much as neighbouring towers. But the Versace label hasn\u2019t proved as much of a lure to foreign buyers as hoped. Over the past five years, prices for flats in \u201cthe ultimate in branded living experience\u201d have dropped by an average of 20%. \u201cThe closer it gets to the completion date of these towers,\u201d said Ricci-Zak, \u201cthe more desperate it seems the contract holders are to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Reaching 170 metres in height, the Damac Tower is part of the so-called \u201cVauxhall cluster\u201d, a row of towers that now forms a motley wall on the skyline. Separated by roaring six-lane roads, the buildings are actually spaced too far apart to form any kind of cluster, standing with the awkward air of a socially distanced gathering of portly executives in ill-fitting suits.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">The <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.london.gov.uk\/what-we-do\/planning\/implementing-london-plan\/opportunity-areas\/opportunity-areas\/vauxhall-nine-elms\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">cumulative effect<\/a> of such a bloated outcrop was never properly considered. The 2012 planning framework for the area, drawn up by the Greater London Authority with input from Lambeth and Wandsworth, set a maximum height limit of 150 metres, with the taller St George Tower as \u201cthe pinnacle of the cluster\u201d. But the plan was soon breached with the arrival of <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kpf.com\/projects\/one-nine-elms\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">One Nine Elms<\/a>, an apartment and hotel complex rising up to 200 metres, also designed by KPF. In a promotional video the architects argued that their site was at the geographic centre of the future crop, so it should therefore be the tallest, with lesser towers stepping up to it \u201cin a sort of swirl\u201d. The planners were convinced. \u201cThe man in the street might not understand how it works,\u201d said Govindia, \u201cbut it is a well-tested principle that you organise tall buildings in a tight cluster, ascending to a peak.\u201d KPF declined to comment, and their video has now been taken down.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=77fdf68c7b1721ae520e33a160af9fc6 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=bc1d9d42cd5605e04dad514775d51a91 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=51b4616fd4e5f3b8ebccd78771669cca 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=51b4616fd4e5f3b8ebccd78771669cca 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=c3471fe12e9298959fed542e229f40fa 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=bf12ac8af325b2d001509220238dd18b 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=5d1ae1eaf2e580f2a9e03c83adea9207 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=16b37a630c55fc326391425b1757490f 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=252d09bedd97555e533072be4a1da4dc 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=92239afe1da8be03979874f1118cfd08 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=92239afe1da8be03979874f1118cfd08 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=a4e65af21b996d2e6717a0c00cc4dc33 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=a3b8daa36c7b9d345c1ec27f95732a00 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=7551e34128adb54cdfc6fd0d1f68558f 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/3f3a9dbb19f57694bd4000fb3e9145008ad5fd9b\/0_207_3957_2374\/master\/3957.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=5d1ae1eaf2e580f2a9e03c83adea9207\" alt=\"The Vauxhall cluster seen from Ruskin Park in south London.\" width=\"3957\" height=\"2374\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">The Vauxhall cluster seen from Ruskin Park in south London.<\/span> Photograph: Oliver Wainwright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">What this picturesque notion failed to foresee is that, once one 200-metre tower had been given permission, it would encourage others to follow, with the threat of expensive legal action if refused. It was a repeat of Prescott\u2019s St George Tower fiasco, setting a precedent for neighbouring landowners to inflate their plans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">A proposal for a pair of towers by <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zaha-hadid.com\/architecture\/vauxhall-cross-island\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Zaha Hadid Architects<\/a> on the site of Vauxhall bus station, backed by one of Saudi Arabia\u2019s wealthiest families through a Guernsey-listed company, was cranked up several stories to 185 metres, and given permission by secretary of state Robert Jenrick last year. A gargantuan trio of ziggurat-shaped towers reaching 200 metres is now well underway nearby, set to be the crowning feature of <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OER7_8NbrMg&amp;amp;feature=emb_title\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">One Thames City<\/a>, a complex of 12 blocks by Chinese developer R&amp;F Group on the site of the former New Covent Garden flower market (since relocated to a temporary shed down the road while a <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.newcoventgardenmarket.com\/redevelopment\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">permanent home is developed<\/a>). Designed by US firm SOM, it has been pitched as \u201ca new benchmark in enduring luxury\u201d, complete with a 30-metre pool and cigar bar, as well as a landscaped Chinese garden, described as \u201cundoubtedly one of the most fascinating sceneries the Thames will behold\u201d. The construction hoarding shows how the penthouse terraces will even come with their own private infinity pools looking out over the river \u2013 a vision recently adorned with a protest sticker with the words: \u201cMAKE THE RICH PAY FOR COVID-19\u201d.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=7a80043a791c170bbdc256e2140574c1 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=6f1ae60799bc664669abb951e33bc779 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=3b2f1be03d97fea3d08e463e49b6f72e 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=3b2f1be03d97fea3d08e463e49b6f72e 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=4f746b14c3f9240e5ffcaf0111578dd8 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=a57b61f4e52556f99ba671ffea9ffe06 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=028cfc21725ed76ba2542eddb9236b42 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=da2577f7461a492223b12fcf8720b5a9 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=d958cf8095717b17ae10cbee7fc6fe8a 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=0134b487ab245091f32f5e3603d6d8d4 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=0134b487ab245091f32f5e3603d6d8d4 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=98ba0dc2661bfbbf67607e7a000e30dd 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=5f9342926869721ddc774b551d3abfc2 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=c6df99cc76740532d3321ebb1c4866c9 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/63f3335fa78bed52b893bd7d8ec9f0d781991b61\/0_361_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=028cfc21725ed76ba2542eddb9236b42\" alt=\"A sticker saying \u2018Make the rich pay for Covid-19\u2019 on One Thames City hoarding in Nine Elms, London\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3283\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">A sticker saying \u2018Make the rich pay for Covid-19\u2019 on a One Thames City hoarding in Nine Elms, London.<\/span> Photograph: Oliver Wainwright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Not all Chinese buyers are impressed. \u201cIf you buy prime property in London,\u201d said Ling Zhang, a Chinese investor who has acquired a handful of new-build apartments in the capital in recent years, \u201cyou want it to feel like London \u2013 not China. I also think there are far too many identical \u2018luxury\u2019 apartments being built in the same location for it to be a good investment. Chinese buyers are very concerned about location, and we mostly prefer north of the river, close to the universities. Many people send their children to London to study, then rent out the apartments when they graduate.\u201d Henry Pryor, a prime property buying agent, is frank: \u201cI\u2019d rather buy a flat in Wuhan than Nine Elms today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">It appears that the world of international diplomacy might feel the same way. The US embassy was supposed to be the first of many missions to migrate across the river, and Nine Elms is still being promoted as \u201cLondon\u2019s new diplomatic quarter\u201d. China was set to move its embassy here, as was the Netherlands, but both have backed out. The Dutch sold their plot to a hotel developer in 2019, while the Chinese have chosen the decorous surrounds of the old Royal Mint next to the Tower of London. Perhaps they shared Donald Trump\u2019s assessment of Nine Elms, when he refused to cut the ribbon on the new embassy: a <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2018\/apr\/29\/trump-hits-out-at-lousy-location-of-us-embassy-in-london\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u201clousy location\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-zpw1ql\" \/>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\"><span class=\"css-hi9njr\"><span class=\"css-1ljoi60\">T<\/span><\/span><span class=\"css-38z03z\">he turbo-charged speculative development along the river has its origins in an unlikely place. It was the socialist mayor of London Ken Livingstone who first designated this part of the capital as one of his 28 \u201copportunity areas\u201d in the <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk\/2004\/feb\/10\/london.london\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">2004 London Plan<\/a>, along with places such as King\u2019s Cross, Elephant and Castle, the Greenwich peninsula and Paddington. The strategy was for a Robin Hood model of regeneration: a tidal wave of foreign investment would be actively encouraged, and tall buildings welcomed, in the belief that a large bounty could be creamed off for the public good. The target was for half of the housing to be affordable. If developers couldn\u2019t meet this target, they would have to produce a financial viability assessment to prove why it wasn\u2019t possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">But it didn\u2019t quite go according to plan. Rather than being an exception, viability became used as a <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/cities\/2015\/jun\/25\/london-developers-viability-planning-affordable-social-housing-regeneration-oliver-wainwright\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">regular get-out clause<\/a>. Each time, it was a similar story: having paid so much for the land, and expecting costly construction fees, while forecasting low sales prices, the developers could make it look like they simply wouldn\u2019t have any money left to pay for affordable housing. Meanwhile, the viability assessment allowed their 20% profit margin to be safely preserved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">In 2012, just as the plan for the VNEB area was being drawn up in City Hall, the Conservative-led coalition government accelerated this trend by placing viability at the very core of national planning policy: the ability of the developer to make a profit would trump everything else. They then watered down the definition of \u201caffordable\u201d housing to mean up to 80% of market rate \u2013 hardly affordable for many in London. With David Cameron in No 10, Boris Johnson in City Hall, Wandsworth council\u2019s former leader Edward Lister as Johnson\u2019s deputy mayor for planning, and Ravi Govindia at Wandsworth town hall, the VNEB opportunity area became the ultimate testing ground for this mighty engine of deregulation, a developer free-for-all where anything would go.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=96639fd784cee8187d4ea55ec642f2e9 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=6e2c0ed5a1e782c66bed5608b77d5a29 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=043078c35bd333bce79fde2c5faacc6a 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=043078c35bd333bce79fde2c5faacc6a 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=355d17b7df4391f011156853ed6993ca 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=a252fc56b3ab4cf7d013ab6c3e64bae3 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=5dba14a1d6e7b712c2728c60bd694b6d 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=118dd8b80d185b7e6a4744ae6c14110b 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=3653343e6df358d84e27535502d53fcf 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=b238f6e12b3576d6f9526242fe63aded 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=b238f6e12b3576d6f9526242fe63aded 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=1d53e03976a7a66476fc0d913af9112c 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=90eabcb5ee3584b46e0e5478654c3e20 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=5172fb212608e65a413e374e7715e88a 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/011319c38f7517d275470eb4a010aa7d6a6de343\/0_0_5472_3283\/master\/5472.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=5dba14a1d6e7b712c2728c60bd694b6d\" alt=\"The Sky Pool visible behind the US embassy, Nine Elms, London\" width=\"5472\" height=\"3283\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">The Sky Pool visible behind the US embassy.<\/span> Photograph: Oliver Wainwright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline9\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--offset-right ad-slot--inline9 ad-slot--rendered\" data-link-name=\"ad slot inline9\" data-name=\"inline9\" data-mobile=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|fluid\" data-phablet=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-desktop=\"1,1|2,2|300,250|300,274|620,1|620,350|550,310|fluid|300,600|160,600\" data-google-query-id=\"CIuIjei03-4CFQ0IrQYdP6wOrA\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot__label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Smoothing the path was Peter Bingle, a former flatmate of Govindia, and a Wandsworth councillor turned housebuilder lobbyist. His company, Terrapin Communications, has worked on behalf of a number of landowners and developers in the area, including Ballymore and Bellway, to help assist the passage of planning applications for hundreds of luxury homes. In 2018, a freedom of information request uncovered a <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2018\/sep\/13\/home-builders-lobbyist-pushed-council-leader-to-sort-and-speed-planning\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">cache of emails<\/a> showing Bingle asking Govindia to intervene in decisions and circumvent council officials he believed were being obstructive to his clients. (There is no suggestion of wrongdoing.) In 1987, when he was chairman of the council\u2019s property sales committee, <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redpepper.org.uk\/why-im-fighting-to-turn-thatchers-favourite-council-red\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Bingle stated<\/a>: \u201cMy aim is to reduce the number of Council properties in Wandsworth from 35,000 to 20,000, and to make Battersea a Conservative constituency.\u201d In critics\u2019 eyes, similar ambitions are driving the development of Nine Elms, which will see a <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mylondon.news\/news\/west-london-news\/parts-wandsworth-expanding-much-ward-17166597\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">new ward boundary<\/a> drawn around the luxury enclave.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">\u201cTory-led Wandsworth has always pioneered the neoliberal policies that created the housing crisis,\u201d said Aydin Dikerdem, a Labour councillor for the Queenstown ward, in which much of the development is underway. \u201cThey launched the right to buy before it was national policy, and accomplished the mass privatisation and demolition of entire estates, as well as the outsourcing of services. What\u2019s going on in Nine Elms and Battersea has nothing to do with maximising social good or creating mixed communities. It is pure social cleansing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">Govindia insists that Wandsworth \u201chasn\u2019t stopped building housing, it\u2019s just not as plentiful as it has been in the past\u201d. He said that the council has embarked on a programme to build 1,000 homes \u201cin the nooks and crannies\u201d of existing council estates, with 60% at social rent levels. (The Labour leader of Lambeth, Jack Hopkins, declined to be interviewed for this article.)<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-zpw1ql\" \/>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\"><span class=\"css-hi9njr\"><span class=\"css-1ljoi60\">D<\/span><\/span><span class=\"css-38z03z\">ikerdem identifies one particular element as the \u201ccardinal sin\u201d of the whole regeneration project. As part of the plan, the Northern line is being extended south-westwards, with two new tube stations, one at Nine Elms and one at Battersea Power Station, part-funded by the developers to the tune of \u00a3266.4m \u2013 money, he argues, that would otherwise have been spent on affordable housing. The 2012 planning framework states that, while both Lambeth and Wandsworth would usually demand between 33-40% affordable housing, contributions towards transport infrastructure should be prioritised here instead. Given the need to pay for the tube stations, it concludes, a target of just 15% affordable housing should be allowed. \u201cIt is pure taxpayer subsidy to improve house prices in a luxury development,\u201d said Dikerdem.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure class=\"css-eiqqge\">\n<div class=\"css-1nfcn93\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=ccf3c03a45efc8cefdfb721aca0cd251 2040w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=7143935a1e9784f9962abe7387929b36 1880w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=e5cbf714106fb949ad06290485e8fe43 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=e5cbf714106fb949ad06290485e8fe43 1400w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=4721ca6dfadf15af4ba1e92f5dd6fc47 1320w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=1229fb6da463abf542c2ba6ca891789f 1290w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=c46aee8718824fc904f36089418b3c5c 930w\" media=\"(-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1.25), (min-resolution: 120dpi)\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=1020&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=caf625d7c33680e94f7b4e2c3d5b8b68 1020w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=940&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=daea45f9c520a951ff377febaf1612d9 940w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=859f70ecc7cdb3cdddafa0bcdffd23ee 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=700&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=859f70ecc7cdb3cdddafa0bcdffd23ee 700w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=660&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=ab19d016d397047e9ba511dd5c63584b 660w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=645&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=4288ae58863588c734835c25026c62d2 645w,https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=85&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;s=2b3d6b4c77ab23b0654c049040439c66 465w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1300px) 860px, (min-width: 1140px) 780px, (min-width: 660px) 620px, 100vw\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-uk6cul\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/4a60774b14336bb195009c927a4769b67e87cd85\/0_311_5186_3113\/master\/5186.jpg?width=465&amp;quality=45&amp;auto=format&amp;fit=max&amp;dpr=2&amp;s=c46aee8718824fc904f36089418b3c5c\" alt=\"New apartment blocks designed by Norman Foster and Frank Gehry next to Battersea Power Station, Nine Elms, London\" width=\"5186\" height=\"3113\" \/><\/picture><\/div><figcaption class=\"css-zq9xdq\"><span class=\"css-1f2y4fi\">New apartment blocks designed by Norman Foster and Frank Gehry next to Battersea Power Station.<\/span> Photograph: Oliver Wainwright<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div id=\"dfp-ad--inline10\" class=\"js-ad-slot ad-slot ad-slot--inline ad-slot--offset-right ad-slot--inline10 ad-slot--rendered\" data-link-name=\"ad slot inline10\" data-name=\"inline10\" data-mobile=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|fluid\" data-phablet=\"1,1|2,2|300,197|300,250|300,274|620,350|550,310|fluid\" data-desktop=\"1,1|2,2|300,250|300,274|620,1|620,350|550,310|fluid|300,600|160,600\" data-google-query-id=\"CNr7jPq03-4CFT0srQYdEQMKaw\">\n<div class=\"ad-slot__label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">While the affordable housing quota averages around 18% across the VNEB area \u2013 including council-owned sites \u2013 and more like 21% in the part that sits within Labour-led Lambeth, it has been reduced even further in the case of the Battersea Power Station development. Having originally agreed to make 15% of the 4,239 planned homes affordable, the Malaysian-owned development company convinced the council to slash the number by 250 to just 9% in 2017, citing <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/uk-news\/2017\/jun\/21\/battersea-power-station-affordable-homes-almost-halved-by-developer\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">\u201ctechnical issues\u201d<\/a> with restoring the historic structure. Here, the separation between the haves and have-nots will be even more acute. While the flats for private sale are housed in overwrought buildings by Norman Foster and <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/artanddesign\/2013\/oct\/31\/frank-gehry-first-london-building-battersea-power-station\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Frank Gehry<\/a>, which do their best to block views of the power station from all directions, the \u201caffordable\u201d homes are being built half a kilometre away, across the busy main road, and butted up against the railway tracks. Residents will have little chance of feeling part of what the developers describe as \u201cone of the most exciting and innovative mixed-use neighbourhoods in the world\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">The depressing reality of what has happened here becomes all the more stark when you look across the river. Right opposite the power station stands <a title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/municipaldreams.wordpress.com\/2014\/05\/20\/the-churchill-gardens-estate-westminster-like-moving-into-heaven\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Churchill Gardens<\/a>, a vast postwar housing estate designed by distinguished architects Powell and Moya, built to house 5,000 people across a 12-hectare site, with several blocks now listed and around half still council-owned. Built by Westminster City Council, it was designed to accommodate a balanced cross-section of society, with the highest standards of housing for all \u2013 and not a segregated entrance in sight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-38z03z\">\u201cThere was once a world where you could build riverside council homes,\u201d said Dikerdem. \u201cWe\u2019ve gone backwards since then. That\u2019s why what has happened here is so upsetting. We are never again going to have all this abandoned industrial space on the river, which could have really transformed the lives of people in a borough in which thousands of people are statutorily homeless, and tons of professionals are spending all their income on private rent. It was a historic opportunity, but we\u2019ve ended up with loads more luxury skyscrapers, which is not what the city needed.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Penthouses and poor doors, The Guardian, 4 Feb 2021 &nbsp; As London has become another hot spot central in the never-ending world of Covid-19 and the fastest globally spreading variant at the moment, penthouses in construction which were supposed to be part of a project to bring more affordable housing to those in need has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11645"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11645"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11645\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11656,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11645\/revisions\/11656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}