Controversial London project at Chelsea barracks facing legal action over £3m unpaid fees

A leading developer and a prestigious architects firm have instructed lawyers to start dispute proceedings over the controversial £3 billion Chelsea barracks residential development in London.

Property development company Candy & Candy is threatening to sue Project Blue Developments Ltd, owners of the site for £1 million in unpaid fees.

Project Blue of which Qatari Diar, the property investment arm of the Qatari state, owns a majority stake, has been dogged by controversy ever since the plans were criticised by Westminster City council, residents associations and the Prince of Wales.

‘We deeply regret having to take this action, but have been given no other choice.

We hope this unfortunate matter can be resolved quickly,’ said a Candy & Candy spokesman.

And architects Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners, which spent over two years working on designs for the site, only to be sacked following the critical outburst from the Prince is also considering legal action over £2 million in unpaid fees.

Lord Rogers has always insisted that a personal letter from Prince Charles to the Emir of Qatar in which he listed grievances about the modernist design was instrumental in him being sacked from the project.

In the late 1980s, Rogers lost the mandate to rebuild Paternoster Square in the City after Prince Charles spoke out against his plans.
 
Rogers, who is famous for designing the Lloyds of London building, and the Pompidou centre in Paris, has hired lawyers Reynolds Porter Chamberlain to sue the owners.

The firm has just been awarded the UK’s highest architectural distinction, the Royal Institute of British Architect’s Stirling Prize, for its design of Maggie’s Centre for cancer patients in London.
A shortlist of three new plans for the site is due to be announced within the next three weeks.