Roman Abramovich has failed in his attempt to move Chelsea Football Club to the site of the Earls Court exhibition centre.
The Russian billionaire was unable to prevent planning permission being granted to use the 77-acre site for housing. He wants to relocate to a 65,000-capacity stadium, with his agents arguing that going to Earls Court could have enabled houses to be built at Chelsea's present 41,000-seat Stamford Bridge ground.
He had submitted objections to the plans by owner Capital and Counties to build 808 homes on the Seagrave Road car park site. But Hammersmith & Fulham council last night approved its application to provide townhouses and apartments around a public garden square.
The project includes 200 affordable homes to be made available for local council estate residents, enabling CapCo to go ahead with the more contentious parts of the project, including demolition of the exhibition venue. The plans now have to be approved by Boris Johnson.
Mr Abramovich is understood to be willing to spend up to £450million on a new arena - a way of recouping some of the £800million that he has invested in the club.
