South Bank statement

The next stage of Bankside's reinvention has begun

The Thames has always been considered the definitive dividing line between North and South London, but it's an idea with some complications. The pronounced loop in the river between Vauxhall Bridge and Tower Bridge means some of North London's most famous landmarks – The Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey – all lie south of Bankside. Even for native Londoners, it's cause for the occasional double-take.

Nor is the river quite the barrier it used to be. For centuries, London Bridge was the only crossing point. Chaucer's pilgrims would have passed it as they set out for Canterbury from the Tabard Inn (you'll find a blue plaque marking the spot in a cul-de-sac off Borough High Street).

In the eighteenth century, new crossings sprang up at Blackfriars and Westminster. But in modern times, the most significant new crossing is the smallest: The Millennium Bridge. After a shaky start, it has turned into one of London's great success stories, providing a seamless pedestrian link from the City and St Paul's across to the former Bankside Power Station, now spectacularly reinvented as Tate Modern.

This is where Londoners come for cultural stimulation, extending the tradition begun at Royal Festival Hall in the 1950s. From the Design Museum and the National Film Theatre to Shakespeare's Globe and the London Eye, the South Bank is home to countless cultural and leisure attractions, attracting millions of visitors every year.

Now things have reached a new and even more interesting stage. Energised by these cultural success stories, Bankside is consolidating its position as a centre for commerce and creative industry, as well as a community in its own right. Our development at Bankside 123| is the catalyst.

As the name suggests, it is a series of three buildings all located just south of Tate Modern and linked by a series of attractive public thoroughfares and green spaces. The effect is to create a vibrant link between the South Bank and Southwark, where we own and manage several other properties, including Red Lion Court, 24 Southwark Bridge Road and 38-48 Southwark Bridge Road.

Bankside 123| is doing for commerce what Tate Modern achieved for culture on the South Bank. IPC Media has established its headquarters at Bankside 1, while Royal Bank of Scotland has moved into Bankside 2 and 3 – an unprecedented move south of the river for a major financial company, and a sure sign of things to come.

With the Jubilee line running through Waterloo and Southwark, the City a short walk away across the bridge, and countless cultural and creative attractions nearby, it's little wonder this part of London is finally asserting its strength. As you gaze from the upper floors of Bankside 1 towards Big Ben slightly to the south, the only puzzle is why it's taken so long.