If you have been wondering what that enormous concrete finger with the pink tip is, you are not alone. Visible from Putney Bridge, from Upper Richmond Road, from the train between Putney and Wandsworth Town, it feels like it has appeared from nowhere across half of south-west London. The question has been doing the rounds for weeks. So here is the answer.
It is the Wandsworth tower, a residential block of more than 30 storeys rising from the old Ram Brewery site at Armoury Way in Wandsworth, one of the tallest buildings south of the river outside Vauxhall and Nine Elms. And the story of how it got there goes back more than a decade. In July 2013, Wandsworth Council approved the Wandsworth Mills development on that site. The planning battle that preceded that vote was fierce. English Heritage objected. The Victorian Society objected. The Wandsworth Society objected. And 209 local residents submitted formal objections, making it one of the most opposed applications the council had seen.
The council voted to approve it anyway. Every Conservative councillor on the planning committee voted yes. Labour’s two members, Councillors Belton and Randall, voted against.
Construction stalled for years. The site was sold by the original developer, Chinese company Greenland Holdings, to Berkeley Group in 2022 for £40 million after financial difficulties. Berkeley restarted the project under the name Wandsworth Mills, marketing the tower as The Artisan, and construction began in earnest from 2024. Completion is due in 2027.
The tower is now past the point where it becomes visible across south-west London. Images taken this week show it clearly from Putney Bridge, from Upper Richmond Road in Putney, and from passing trains. It is the pink-capped concrete structure rising sharply above the surrounding rooftops near the Ram Quarter development on Wandsworth High Street.
What was approved and what it means for the area
The 2013 approval was controversial not just for its height but for what the developer offered in return. Of all the homes in the development, 10% were designated as affordable, and all of those were intermediate, meaning shared ownership or similar. None were social rent. English Heritage, in its objection, argued the tower would cause “substantial harm” to views from Richmond Park and the Thames.
Wandsworth Council’s planning officers recommended approval, and the Conservative majority followed that recommendation. The argument was that the economic regeneration of the old brewery site and the delivery of homes outweighed the heritage and visual concerns.
What the 2013 decision also did was set a precedent. Each subsequent tall building in the same area has pointed to the Wandsworth Mills tower as evidence that the area can accommodate height. In March 2025, Wandsworth Council approved a 29-storey tower at the former gasworks site on Swandon Way, less than half a mile away. In June 2025, a six-storey hotel on Ram Street (taller than the surrounding area) was approved partly on the grounds that the nearby tower had already changed the character of the neighbourhood. Central Wandsworth has moved firmly toward height.
The Artisan Tower is now the most visible landmark in that pattern. From Putney Bridge, it appears on the skyline above Chelsea Bridge and the treeline of Battersea Park. From Upper Richmond Road, it sits at the end of the road on the horizon. From the South Western Railway line between Putney and Wandsworth Town, it is the first thing passengers notice.
What residents can do
The development itself is approved and under construction. There is no planning mechanism to stop a tower once consent has been granted and building has begun. But the pattern of tall buildings in Wandsworth is still evolving, and the decisions that shape it are made at planning committee meetings that are open to the public.
Anyone who wants to track or comment on new planning applications near the Ram Brewery site can search the Wandsworth planning portal at planning.wandsworth.gov.uk using the postcode SW18 1SL. New applications in the area would be neighbour-notified, meaning residents nearby would receive letters, but anyone can submit comments regardless of where they live.
The planning committee meets monthly. Dates and agendas are published on the council website at wandsworth.gov.uk. Members of the public can speak at planning committee hearings (three minutes per speaker) by registering in advance through the democratic services team.
Wandsworth Council was asked to comment on the original 2013 approval and the pattern of tall building consents in the area since then.
It’s ghastly. There are better ways to fix the so-called housing crisis. Would also be fascinated to know how the developers will contribute to the local transport infrastructure to account for the additional population…