London has undergone a building boom in recent years. According to Greater London Authority figures, 31,430 new homes were“delivered” in 2006-07, 83 per cent more than in 1999-2000. Many of these are small flats in towers of dubious aesthetic pedigree. This “build 'em high and damn the planners” approach was Ken Livingstone's solution to the capital's housing shortage. The new mayor, Boris Johnson, is known to disapprove of tall buildings that block historic views. He has pledged to shift the emphasis from flats to “more family homes with gardens” and spoken of his wish to see “dwellings of distinction and grace that satisfy the instinct for differentiation that is deep in the human soul”. His planning adviser, Sir Simon Milton, has been more frank: “This fetish for tall buildings will be a disaster for London.”

London, however, does need flats for its army of single young professionals. Two new riverside developments on the Wandsworth-Battersea border cater for this demographic. The first, Battersea Reach, by the prolific South London developer St George, part of the Berkeley Homes group, will soon feature a swanky new 17-storey tower, which Mark Griffiths, the firm's managing director, describes as “the best thing St George has delivered, in my personal opinion”. St George also intends to build a controversial high-rise tower in Vauxhall: the planners' initial rejection was overruled by John Prescott, then Deputy Prime Minister, with Ken Livingstone's backing. It is highly unlikely to be popular with the new regime, but Griffiths insists that “it's just a question of when”.

The new tower at Battersea Reach will rise next to Wandsworth Bridge and be the most expensive part of a 13-acre development (on the site of a derelict gin distillery) that will consist of 1,084 flats (30 per cent affordable) and 282,250sqft of shops and bars. Four tiered blocks of pale stone and glass have already been built. Buyers so far have been “young professionals and people trading down from large family houses”. The tower will have 41 high-spec flats: two-beds start at 1,000sqft and £829,950, three-beds at 1,200sqft and £1.13 million. St George hopes to sell the 7,000 sq ft triplex penthouse for “upwards of £9 million”, which is optimistic for what is still a gritty backwater area.

Griffiths is frank about the market problems, but bullish about his tower's prospects: “We know we're going to have a slow sales rate and I don't mind telling you I'm pleased that we're launching only 41 flats and not 141. But we have not suffered the down valuations that other developers have, partly because our market isn't first-time buyers and quality still sells. There is strong investment from Middle Eastern buyers who see London as a safe place to invest long term.”

A prospective buyer without £9million to spare will find a cheaper, though no less ritzy, option five minutes' walk east along the river. Bridges Wharf, by Weston Homes, will be three tiered buildings rising to 15 storeys on just under two acres of land, providing 252 flats (26 per cent affordable), which start at 450 sq ft and £350,000 for one-beds, and 773sqft and £455,000 for two-beds. Of these, 91 have already been pre-sold, mostly to investors from Russia, Hong Kong and Singapore. There will be six penthouses ranging in price from £1.25million to £2million, and 22,000 sq ft of cafés and shops.

Bob Weston, of Weston Homes, is proud of his “mid-market product aimed at ordinary Londoners”, although this is a modest description of the spec in the show flat. What makes Bridges Wharf exciting is the luxury hotel by the Von Essen group (owners of Cliveden), which will take up the lower half of one building. It will be the first five-star hotel south of the river and will doubtless benefit from its position as the closest hotel to London's only heliport. Residents may use the hotel facilities (a roof-top restaurant and spa) at reduced rates, but this may not prove sufficient to compensate for the noise of the helicopters, despite extra insulation.

Weston shares the St George view that developers who can sell to foreign investors are in a good position, although naturally he believes in the superior charms of his product: “We've priced carefully and sold half already. I think people will look at the other riverside developments but come back here because of the price.”

Neither development accords exactly with the mayoral plea for soulful housing, but they are at least finding buyers, which is a vote of confidence in the capital.

Fact file

Both developments are in the borough of Wandsworth, where the average home costs £402,820 compared with a London average of £357,675 (Land Registry). Sales volumes are down 39 per cent since July.

Details: batterseareach.com, 020-7978 4141; bridges-wharf.co.uk, 0845 6385005.

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