Minor changes have been made to plans for a 25-storey luxury apartment block by the River Thames in South London, ahead of its opening this year. The tower in Battersea will now have 175 flats, after Wandsworth Council agreed to adjust the scheme on Tuesday night (January 20) to provide a four-bedroom flat to address the need for family-sized homes.
The riverside building from developer Ghelamco will have a cinema, gym, rooftop garden, 24-hour concierge and underground parking, along with shops and offices in another building. It is preparing to welcome residents later this spring as construction is nearing completion, with only a limited number of flats left to buy, starting at £595,000.
The scheme on York Road was originally approved with 136 flats in 2019, before the number of homes was increased to 177 in 2022.
The council’s Planning Committee agreed proposals to combine three smaller flats into a four-bed flat in the tower on Tuesday night, which means it will have 175 homes instead of 177. This includes 111 market homes and 64 shared ownership homes.
Planning documents said the change responded to “market demand and a need for larger family-sized housing in the local area”.
They added the development brings “a mix of uses for which there is a demonstrable need, specifically office floorspace and new homes”.
It does not change the appearance of the building or the total floorspace.
The site is part of the former Price’s Candle Factory, which began operating in 1830 and had become the biggest maker of candles in the world by the end of the century. The company had moved operations away from Battersea by 2001.
The scheme preserves three of the original Victorian factory buildings and has developed the remainder of the site, which was home to a car showroom and car parking spaces.
