Property developers held a topping out ceremony at a former industrial site in Nine Elms set to bring more than 200 homes at lost cost rent to the area.

The St William development at Prince of Wales Drive, Battersea is a joint venture between National Grid and the Berkley group and the ceremony was in celebration of the first structural completion for the Battersea scheme and for the St William portfolio.

The development will include 229 housing association homes for low cost rent and shared ownership, and will deliver a total of 955 new homes to the area. The first residents will move in from 2019 and the development will be finished by 2025.

It has also provided local employment, with 370 construction jobs during the development and 85 permanent jobs to be created on completion.

The development on the five-acre former gasworks site will include a Gym Group gym, a children's nursery, 65,000 sq.ft of office space, a café, food and retail units as well as £34.4m of Community Infrastructure Levy contributions to the local area.

Tony Pidgley CBE, Chairman of Berkeley Group, Leader of Wandsworth Council Councillor Ravi Govindia, Managing Director of St William Alison Dowsett and Phil Edwards, Head of Real Estate for National Grid attended the ceremony, which took place earlier this month.

Cllr Govindia, Leader of Wandsworth Council, said:

“This is another exciting redevelopment of a formerly industrial site in Nine Elms where leading housing association Clarion is set to provide more than 200 homes for low cost rent and for shared ownership - and at no cost to taxpayers. Four thousand housing association and council homes are on their way in this previously disused area, in what is becoming a new and exciting part of Battersea to live in and to visit.”