In use 1862-2008 | ||
Type Residential (Former Army Barracks) Owners Qatari Diar Real Estate Investment Company, Project Blue Developments Ltd, Project Blue Ltd Similar Chelsea Bridge Road, Embassy of the United States - Lo, Royal Hospital Chelsea, Wellington Barracks, One Hyde Park | ||
Chelsea barracks
Chelsea Barracks was a British Army barracks located in the City of Westminster, London, adjacent to Chelsea and Belgravia, on Chelsea Bridge Road. Today, Chelsea barracks is owned by Project Blue Ltd and is the flagship London development of Qatari Diar, a subsidiary of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA).
Contents
- Chelsea barracks
- Time lapse chelsea barracks
- History
- Development of the site
- 2007 sale
- 2009 withdrawal
- 2014
- References
Time lapse chelsea barracks
History
The original barracks were designed by George Morgan to house two battalions of infantry and were completed in 1862. These barracks were a long and monotonous brick structure broken by towers in the centre. The original arrangement included a chapel which survives, the interior of which includes pictures of King David, the Prophet Joshua, Saint John and Saint James as well as some panels listing the names of soldiers who have been killed in action. It is now a Grade II listed building.
The original buildings, excluding the chapel, were demolished and, in June 1960, construction started on two 13-storey concrete tower blocks which were designed by Tripe and Wakeham and completed in 1962. The tower blocks were used to accommodate four companies from the Guards Regiments. A nail-bomb attack on the barracks by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in September 1981 killed two civilians.
Development of the site
On 6 September 2005 Secretary of State for Defence, John Reid, announced that Chelsea Barracks would be sold. He described it as needing extensive renovations. The site was vacated in 2008 with the troops transferred to the Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich. The site was part of the Ministry of Defence's Project MoDEL that saw it and five other sites across London sold off, mainly for housing.
Westminster City Council published its draft planning brief for the Chelsea Barracks site in September 2006. It included a commitment to develop 50% of the site with affordable housing. A Community Forum was established by local residents in April 2006 with the support of Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, John Hutton MP, to campaign for greater transparency in the sale of the barracks site and for the 50% affordable homes commitment to be realised.
2007 sale
The barracks is in one of London's most expensive residential areas and was originally expected to sell for £250m. In April 2007 the Ministry of Defence agreed to sell Chelsea Barracks in its 12.8 acres (5.2 ha) site for £959 million to a consortium consisting of Qatari Diar and the CPC Group. On 1 February 2008, the Joint Venture took possession of the site. Subsequently CPC’s interest in the Joint Venture company, Project Blue Ltd, was acquired by Qatari Diar which now owns 100% of the site. Different design proposals for development of the site have been put forward by Richard Rogers and by Charles, Prince of Wales. Squire and Partners, with Dixon Jones and landscape designer Kim Wilkie, were selected by Qatari Diar to create a master plan for Chelsea Barracks.
2009 withdrawal
In early June 2009, the developers, Qatari Diar withdrew their plan to build 552 flats in 17 blocks. In May 2010 some of the developers made an £81m claim at the High Court, blaming Prince Charles for the withdrawal of a planning application.The claim was later reduced to £68m and the court did not award the money.
2014
Westminster Council granted detailed planning consent for the first phase of the scheme in May 2014. The phase, designed by architects Squire & Partners, consists of 68 apartments across three eight-storey blocks and includes five new garden squares.