The American Embassy is to relocate to the Nine Elms area of Wandsworth, South London, in a move that should bring regeneration — and extra security — to this well-located, but scruffy part of the South Bank. The success of This Space, the first residential block in the regeneration zone, looks likely to be a test of whether first-time buyers will agree with the Americans’ view that Nine Elms has potential.

The development of 200 flats, some for private sale, the rest affordable, is a conversion of a building that used to be belong to South Bank University. I know this because I ventured there for my postgraduate journalism training. The first 38 private flats go on sale on September 10.

They are lovely, airy dwellings, some with views of the London Eye, the Gherkin, and Battersea Power Station.

They are cheap too, starting at £185,000 for a studio and £220,000 for a one-bedroom flat. Even the largest, with two bedrooms at about 900 sq ft, is under £500,000. The prices are reasonable, given that you are an 11-minute Tube ride from Oxford Street.

Jonathan Lloyd-Ham, of Field & Sons, a local agent, says that good one-bedroom conversions in the area cost £240,000 plus.

However, Nine Elms seemed to me as dodgy as ever — on the five-minute walk from Stockwell Tube I saw a youth resisting arrest. I was unsure how safe you might feel walking home at night. That said, in the next few years the new embassy should be a real catalyst for change.

There is also a proposal for a new Tube station at Nine Elms, an extension of the Northern Line.

Contact: Savills on 020-7409 8756, or the marketing suite on 0845 1800004; E-mail:

thisspace@mount-anvil.com

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