Mayor Sadiq Khan Approves Plans for Chelsea FC's New Stadium
Says Stamford Bridge will become ' a jewel in London's sporting crown'
Chelsea FC's plans for a new stadium at Stamford ridge have been approved by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
Announcing his decision, he said: "London is one of the world’s greatest sporting cities and I’m delighted that we will soon add Chelsea’s new stadium to the already fantastic array of sporting arenas in the capital.
"Having taken a balanced view of the application, I’m satisfied this is a high-quality and spectacular design which will significantly increase capacity within the existing site, as well as ensuring fans can have easy access from nearby transport connections.
"I’m confident this new stadium will be a jewel in London’s sporting crown and will attract visitors and football fans from around the world."
The Mayor's green light for the stadium follows the approval granted by H &F Council's Planning and Development Control committee on 11 January.
You can read the details of the council's decision here.
The club is hoping to demolish the current stadium along with all the other buildings on the site including flats, hotels and health club and build a new stadium on the existing Stamford Bridge site which will hold 60,000 spectators instead of the current total of 41,500 and include an elevated walkway over the District and West London railway lines.
The stadium has been designed by architects by Herzog & de Meuron, who also designed the Beijing Olympic Stadium and is expected to cost owner Roman Abramovich upwards of £500 million.
On its website, Chelsea FC said: "This is the latest significant step toward redevelopment of the stadium and the delivery of the extensive local community programme.
"Further steps lie ahead, both during and after the planning process, before construction work can commence.
"We continue to collaborate with all stakeholders and will keep you informed of progress made.
"We would like to acknowledge all residents, businesses and other parties locally who are engaging with us during the process."
The demolition and and building works could begin in the summer of 2018 and are scheduled to last three years with the new stadium open to the public by 2021.
Matches are expected to be moved to a temporary home during the building works, with Wembley Stadium reportedly the most likely option.
The club's planning application, which was slightly revised in August 2016, is as follows:
Demolition of existing stadium and buildings within Stamford Bridge Grounds and construction of a new 60,000 capacity football stadium (Class D2) with ancillary stadium-related uses including a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, Club shop, kiosks and museum; restaurant/café (Class A3); together with the construction of a Decking Platform over the District Line railway to the north-west and a Decking Platform over the Southern mainline railway to the east; external concourse areas; associated excavation works; new pedestrian access from Fulham Broadway Station and Fulham Road; new vehicular access via Wansdown Place; car parking; landscaping and related works. (‘Amended Proposed Development’).
You can read the full application and hundreds of supporting documents here.
January 11 , 2017
