Boasting a sky pool and luxury glossy flats, what do people think of the £3billion London project dubbed Dubai-on-Thames?
The Nine Elms regeneration project hit headlines for its lavish, eye-catching, apartments and 35-metre pool which divided opinion among residents.
Based in Wandsworth the rejuvenated site could easily be mistaken for a metropolis out of a comic book, but critics have said while walking through the area it's clear there is "no personality, no sense of community and no sign of the hundreds of flats being built".
The development has cost around £3billion, but only a third of the apartments have been sold by developers.
One Embassy Gardens employee told MyLondon : "Apart from expensive eateries and gyms, there’s bugger all around here.
“It’s the lack of amenities, it’s becoming a mini Canary Wharf. I worked for some time in Canary Wharf, I’m not particularly fond of it but I think it’s better than this.
"There must be some seriously wealthy people [here, though] - from time to time you see really expensive cars.”
When Embassy Gardens opened up the sky pool last year it was criticised by many as a "disgusting flaunting of excessive wealth", while so many living close by were struggling to make ends meet.
Only half of the development's residents can use the pool and other amenities.
It all comes down to whether they own their flat outright or if it was under shared ownership.
Labour councillor for Queenstown Aydin Dikerdem said: “Don’t get hung up on the Sky Pool, it’s the wider Nine Elms development model that is the problem.
“This former industrial area in the heart of London was an incredible opportunity for a city facing a severe housing crisis.
"Yet from its inception, Conservative politicians have prioritised the private gain of developers over the public good.
"This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to help tackle the housing crisis that Londoners know all to well; social housing waiting lists decades-long, tens of thousands [who are] statutory homeless and in temporary accommodation across the city, and precarious renters losing half their salaries to keep a roof over their head."
Plans to redevelop the area began back in 2011, under the watch of the now-ousted Conservative Wandsworth Council.
The previous year Ravi Govindia became leader of Wandsworth Council and he was a huge driving force behind the regeneration project.
Just a few months before the Sky Pool became a reality, he defended the area when it was dubbed a ghost town full of empty flats.
He told The Guardian: "London is an international city. It has always had people who don’t live in their home for 365 days a year.
"And the reality of overseas investment from off-plan sales has, in many cases, delivered these developments."
Out of 20,000 new homes being built there - just 4,000 are deemed to be actually affordable.
Rick, who works just yards away from the Sky Pool and commutes from Birmingham to London during the week, described the capital as a "vibrant city that could be New York" but with unrealistic house prices.
Rick, who did not want to give his surname, said: "The houses in Birmingham are very cheap.
"Very, very cheap, it’s a very industrial working class area. You can get houses for £200,000 but here in London a [large] proportion of people are renting - what are they going to do when they finish renting?"
Pointing at a red Lamborghini that is being driven out of the shadows beneath the Sky Pool, he added: "That person with their car - how many homeless people do you think the value of it could help?"
"This is a never-ending story. It will always happen. I always believe when I go to London, we've been told it is very fast paced and a very vibrant city that could be New York.
"But the problem we're facing is everything is going up [in price] - so we need to invest more in homeless people because at the moment I see people sleeping on the streets - rehabilitate them."
Two Aussie tourists visiting the capital were fascinated by the lavish Sky Pool.
One of them said: "We think it's extraordinary but not knowing the history, we're looking at it from an architectural point of view, it's beautiful for such dense housing - it's an interesting plot.
"But it shows a bit of a class system, depending on how rich you are [whether you can use it]."
One neighbour of the posh regeneration project, who has lived in their council home for the past 50 years, said: "The average working class person can't afford to rent privately and even then private landlords treat people really badly - if someone put their name down right now on the housing list, you're looking at at least seven to eight years to get a flat."
The new Labour-led council has already pledged to build 1,000 council homes in the area and has set a bold target of at least 50% affordable housing on all developments.
