In a climate of increasing pressure on local government to pursue economic growth, more and more councils can point to impressive developments as evidence of their achievements and a legacy for the future. However, it’s not often you get to say that you are at the centre of a plan to create an entirely new quarter for England’s capital city.

Wandsworth LBC chief executive, Paul Martin, has the chance to do just that. Nine Elms, just south of the river at Vauxhall in the heart of London, is part of a huge development programme on largely brownfield land.

As well as spanning 195 hectares, from Lambeth Bridge in the North to Battersea Bridge in the South, it encompasses New Covent Garden Market, the new US embassy and the iconic Battersea Power Station.