Bowled over in Zone 2: new Oval Village development set to offer thousands of new homes within iconic Kennington gasholders

Not so long ago, gasholders were thought of as ugly leftovers from the industrial age, but creative architecture is finding welcome new uses for them.

Housebuilder St William has teamed up with National Grid to transform dozens of old gasworks in and around London.

This week sees the launch of Oval Village, a 1,309-home project next to the international cricket ground in Kennington SE11.

When built in 1847, the Oval gasholders were the largest of their kind in the world, and for many decades formed a familiar backdrop to Test matches.

Only one of the historic trio has survived the controversial planning application, but Berkeley Homes, the developer, is building new flats within its towering skeletal framework.

These homes will be released later. First up is Phoenix Court, with flats set amid new public spaces and private gardens.

The village will be a place to work as well as live. The Generator is a six storey office block with a co-working hub, café and community centre. Plus there will be a residents swimming pool and gym. Prices start at £470,000.

Until now Oval has struggled to establish an identity beyond the cricket ground but this is a well connected Zone 2 address close to the river and a short hop on the Tube from the West End and City.

Dramatic change at nearby Vauxhall and Nine Elms is a game changer for the area that should see it increase in popularity, with the new Northern line spur to Battersea scheduled to open in 2021.