Councillors approve new offices on former South London Mail Centre site in Nine Elms

Work is expected to begin on the site on Nine Elms Lane this summer.

It will see an eleven-storey building built, complete with a rooftop terrace, and will mainly house offices as well as some flexible space for start-ups and community groups to use.

A similar scheme received planning permission in March 2020.

The new scheme had 14.1 per cent more floorspace, but is the same height.

Council officer, Joanna Chambers, said the building was expected to bring 1,000 jobs for the area, and the developers hope that the relocation of Apple and Penguin Random House will help them to target other digital, tech and creative companies.

Some concerns were raised about the separation between the new building and the New Covent Garden Market entrance site.

But councillors praised the scheme for helping the local economy.

Cllr Paul Ellis described it as “a very exciting development”.

“Nine Elms was traditionally a major employment area in the borough and of course there was always the worry it would end up as a dormitory borough with no employment.