Explore the proposal

Thank you for your interest in the forthcoming planning application for the vacant land known as Plot C Vauxhall College adjacent to Belmore Street. YourTRIBE are proposing a purpose-built student accommodation building that replicates the height and reduces the massing of the proposals for rented apartments approved at Lambeth’s planning committee in 2024. The proposals include 35% affordable student housing.

The site

The site is on the two maps shown as the red rectangle roughly mid-way between Nine Elms Station and Wandsworth Road Station.

This is Plot C, Vauxhall College, Belmore Street, SW8 2JY. It is currently a vacant cleared open site which was formerly part of Vauxhall College.

It is in the London Borough of Lambeth, on the border of Wandsworth and the major regeneration area of Nine Elms. This is part of the wider Vauxhall Nine Elms Battersea Opportunity Area, one of London’s largest regeneration districts. Positioned close to the River Thames, the site sits within an area undergoing significant transformation through major residential, commercial and mixed-use development. Adjacent to Vauxhall College, with New Covent Garden Market to the north and west and established residential accommodation to the south, the site presents an opportunity to deliver a high-quality landmark building that contributes positively to the continued evolution of Nine Elms as a vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood.

The bottom map is of a larger scale showing the boundary of the site.

The site’s eastern boundary is dominated by inactive frontages, boundary walls and service areas, creating an uninviting edge to Brooklands Passage and limiting natural surveillance and pedestrian connectivity.

Previous applications

In 2024, the Lambeth Council planning committee approved a 24 storey building of 262 flats, designed to be rented rather than sold. The full planning permission process has not been completed and there are no plans to progress this building due to changed market conditions.

Proposals

Here's a graphic showing key information about the proposals.

YourTRIBE are proposing a development which will provide purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA), with 647 rooms, some ensuite and some with shared ‘cluster’ kitchens, of which 44 will be wheelchair accessible or adaptable, spread over 24 storeys. 35% of these rooms will be at affordable student rent levels. There will also be a community café, a roof terrace, co-working space, bike storage and landscaping. The development features a biodiverse roof with solar panels and a landscaped area.

Click on the image to view it in a larger format.

Comparison with previous proposals

Below you can see images of how the proposals would look compared to the previous scheme from 2024.

ABOVE: Views from Deeley Road.

ABOVE: Views from Deeley Road East.

ABOVE: Views from Crimsworth Road.

ABOVE: Views from Larkhall Park.

Importantly, we have reduced the width of the building, which can be seen by comparing the two floor plans below.

The plan on the left shows the approved proposals and the new proposals are shown on the right. You can see the dotted line on the right hand plan that demonstrates the larger size of the previous proposals.

External spaces

As part of the development we will improve local biodiversity with new open spaces and pocket parks.

ABOVE: Brooklands Park.

Brooklands Park

1. Feature banding to extend quailty of building frontage around perimeter of site

2. Shade planting to building edge; to provide dense, low level greening including shade tolerant shrubs, ferns and herbaceous plants

3. ‘Green Wall’; climbers to existing wall

4. Proposed trees in hard landscape; to provide canopy cover. Clear stemmed to maintain visual surveillance through space

ABOVE: Pocket Park.

Pocket Park

1. Connections introduce to create permeability with Thorparch Road gardens

2. Hedges to provide structure and continuation of banding through planting

3. Timber bridges over rain gardens, introduce softer materiality and textural change

4. Table tennis for youth play and social point

5. Individual seats

6. Tables & Chairs

7. Pergola feature to shade and structure; with seating beneath

8. Play trails connecting through planting and hard surfacing to provide varied and imaginative experience

Mature trees, soft landscaping and existing open views provide opportunities for urban greening, improved overlooking and enhanced passive surveillance. The Belmore Street frontage also offers potential to strengthen connections with the wider neighbourhood.

Brooklands Passage

Brooklands Passage currently presents a constrained and uninviting pedestrian environment, defined by high boundary walls, limited overlooking and poor visual permeability. The route lacks activity and natural surveillance, creating a sense of enclosure, while also highlighting opportunities to improve connectivity and the quality of the public realm.

To create a safer, greener and more welcoming Brooklands Passage through the widening of the passageway and the enhancement of both hard and soft landscaping, improving connectivity and the pedestrian experience while providing opportunities for spill-out spaces to support ground floor amenity uses for residents and visitors.

Below you can see how Brooklands Passage looks now and how it could look after completion.

ABOVE: Brooklands Passage, current and future.

On the ground floor

The plan below shows the potential layout of the ground floor.

Click on the image to view it in a larger format.

ABOVE: Bay studies.

Bay studies

Here you can see two images of how the architectural language of the building will be expressed. As you can see from the images, the building will be of a high-quality design, utilising a light brick to soften the relationship between the building and its surroundings.

Active street front

The main entrance to the student accommodation will be on Belmore Street.

The proposed community café will provide a welcoming and inclusive social space for residents, visitors and the wider community. Located at ground floor level with an active frontage, the café will contribute positively to the vibrancy and natural surveillance of the surrounding area throughout the day and evening. The café will act as a communal hub, encouraging social interaction, wellbeing and community cohesion by offering an informal space for meeting, studying and collaboration.

The proposal will support the local economy by increasing footfall, creating employment opportunities and contributing to a more active and attractive street environment. Overall, the café will enhance the sense of place within the development and deliver social and economic benefits to both occupants of the building and the wider community.

With this move comes an opportunity to reinforce this location as a place for learning, which you can find out more about across this website and by coming to meet us at our programme of events.

Inside the building

Here are the architects floor layouts. In order, you can see the first to fourteenth floors, the fifteenth floor, the sixteenth floor and the seventeenth to twenty third floor .

Click to see the floor plans.

A co-working space on the fifteenth floor will provide a flexible and modern working environment designed to support productivity, collaboration and resident wellbeing. The space will offer a range of informal and dedicated work settings suitable for independent working, group study and remote working opportunities. The provision of a dedicated co-working facility will encourage interaction and knowledge sharing amongst residents whilst reducing the need to travel elsewhere for workspace facilities.

Thank you

We hope that you have found this introduction to our proposals helpful. On the Share Your Views page you can tell us your opinions or ask any questions – thank you for your interest.

Back to home page Share your views

Find out about the team working on this project:
The Team