- Chelsea Barracks
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Chelsea Barracks, Stanford's Map Of Central London 1897
Chelsea Barracks in 2008, prior to demolitionChelsea Barracks was a British Army barracks located in the City of Westminster, London, adjacent to Chelsea, on Chelsea Bridge Road.
Contents
History
The barracks was originally built in the 1860s to house two battalions of troops. The original Victorian buildings were replaced by a series of concrete tower blocks after World War 2.
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 MODeL project 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.[1] 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. The Times reported that "The enclave, between Sloane Square and the River Thames, now has the unofficial title of Britain’s most expensive residential development site at £70.3m per acre."[2] On February 1, 2008 the Candy brothers took possession of the site.[3] Different design proposals for development of the site have been put forward by Richard Rogers and by Charles, Prince of Wales.[4] Westminster City Council claim that the participation by the Prince has encouraged healthy public debate.[5] Squire and Partners, with Dixon Jones and landscape designer Kim Wilkie, have been selected by Qatari Diar to create a master plan for Chelsea Barracks.[6]
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 a £81m claim at the High Court, blaming Prince Charles for the withdrawal of a planning application.
References
- ^ "Chelsea Barracks to be sold off". BBC News. 2005-09-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/4218386.stm. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ Louise Armitstead and Robert Booth (2007-04-29). "Sold, sir! £900m record for Chelsea Barracks". Times Online. London. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1720032.ece. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ Judith Heywood (2008-02-01). "Record £959m buys Chelsea Barracks for developers". Times Online. London. http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article3285501.ece. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
- ^ Angus Laurie and Mariana Leguia (2009-08-16). "The case of Chelsea Barracks – Prince Charles and Richard Rogers". Glass Magazine. http://glassmagazine.co.uk/forum/feature.asp?tid=275. Retrieved 2009-09-01.
- ^ "Chelsea Barracks Planning Application". Westminster City Council. 2009-06-16. http://www.westminster.gov.uk/services/environment/planning/chelsea-barracks/. Retrieved 2009-09-01.[dead link]
- ^ "Squire and Partners, Dixon Jones score Chelsea Barracks victory". Building Design. 7 December 2009. http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=3154680. Retrieved 2010-03-08.
External links
Categories:- Barracks in London
- Buildings and structures in Westminster
- British Army bases
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