Planners have given the go-ahead for a £500m mixed-use development in Vauxhall that will include two 50-storey towers.
According to the approved detailed planning application which was submitted by developer CLS Holdings a year ago, the pair of towers, which will form part of a 143,000sqm mixed-use scheme at Vauxhall Square on the south bank of the Thames, will consist of 520 new homes.
Aside from the construction of new homes, including a portion of affordable homes, the scheme will also include 22,732sqm of offices, 3,119sqm of retail space, a 278-bedroom hotel and a 123-suite hotel, a 50-bedroom hostel for the homeless and 359 student rooms, a 3,777sqm multi-screen cinema and associated community facilities, as well as a new public square and public realm improvements.
Building work on the development is scheduled to start in early 2015.
Richard Tice, chief executive at CLS, told the press: "We are delighted to have secured this major planning approval in the main central London regeneration area, which is undergoing rapid transformation and attracting the attention of investors worldwide. The project is expected to create over 5,000 construction jobs, 2,000 permanent jobs, and deliver more than £500m of inward investment into the Vauxhall area."
CLS' new scheme is located at the centre of Vauxhall Nine Elms, between the Vauxhall transport interchange and the new US Embassy in south London, which is set to undergo huge transformation over the next few years, thanks in part to the planned extension of the Northern tube line to the area.
The funding announced by George Osborne in his recent Autumn Statement will ensure the creation of tube stations in Nine Elms and outside Battersea power station.
It is hoped about 16,000 new homes and up to 25,000 new jobs will be created in the area, with 27 projects in the development pipeline including Battersea power station and the new US embassy.
Nick Vaughan, head of residential development and investment at Hamptons International, commented: "The Government has finally recognised the importance of the Battersea/ Nine Elms area for Central London. This investment will enable desperately needed jobs and new homes, delivering one of the most important regeneration projects in Central London for decades."