'Amber light' given to Candys' barracks flats

A £1 billion scheme to redevelop Chelsea Barracks has been given the "amber light" by council planners.

The Candy & Candy plan is to build hundreds of high-priced flats, as well as "affordable housing", a sports centre, swimming pool, hotel, restaurant and shops.

A meeting of Westminster council's planning committee said the proposals "had the makings of an acceptable scheme". It is the first verdict on the proposals and comes after opposition from some Belgravia residents.

These included the Belgravia Residents' Association and the Duke of Westminster's Grosvenor Estate. However, only two members of the committee-agreed that the basic design was unacceptable, with one likening the "affordable" section to Sixties housing estates.

Committee chairman Alastair Moss told the steering meeting last night that the council's brief for the site made a very dense scheme inevitable.

The Candy brothers' project has been drawn up by Lord Rogers. The brothers are now to make a series of changes to meet the committee's requirements before a formal decision can be made.

Some buildings may be reduced in size, and three mature trees have to be protected. The developers were also told that private flats may not be allowed to be air-conditioned.

The site is owned by Project Blue, a joint venture by Christian Candy's CPC Group - which also owns the One Hyde Park development in Knightsbridge - and the Qatari Diar Real Estate.

Architects working on the barracks said the 14 main buildings will fit seamlessly into the landscape and are inspired by flats in nearby Sloane Court. They will be covered by coloured copper panels designed to blend in with the surrounding areas.

But in a letter to the committee Lord Stockton, a resident of Warwick Square, describes the proposals as "an abomination". He said the social housing element of the scheme is reminiscent of "the blocks of flats which surround every eastern European city", claims the scale of the proposals is out of keeping with the surrounding area and bemoans the lack of open space.

"This plan is a blot on the landscape," he wrote. "I shall fight you and do all I can to take this particular Candy away from our children and grandchildren."

James Wright, chairman of the Belgravia Residents' Association, said: "I find it incredible that the committee felt able to ignore hundreds of valid and well-argued objections so casually."