Qatari Diar has said it will have to review whether it pays for some of the community benefits in its Chelsea Barracks development if a chapel at the centre of the site is listed.
The property company said that if the chapel is grade II listed, as proposed by English Heritage, certain ‘non section 106’ benefits it is paying for will need to be covered by the council instead.
‘If the chapel is listed and subsequently retained then the developer will need to review the content of the proposed scheme including the extent of the community benefits it can provide,’ said a statement from the developer.
A decision whether or not to list the 1960s chapel is currently being made by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.
Project Blue, the subsidiary company developing Chelsea Barracks, said it would not be adversely affected if the chapel is listed, but it would mean a reduction in public space for thoser visiting and living in the finished scheme.
A spokesman said: ‘It will impact on our neighbours who would have benefitted from the proposed public open space, the commemorative garden, the fit-out of the sports complex and the potential funding of other public benefits associated with the scheme which local groups have asked for, all of which will inevitably be impacted adversely.’
The chapel was deconsecrated in the early 1990s and was a place of worship for guards stationed at the barracks.
Candy & Candy are Chelsea Barracks’ project managers and interior designers.
1 Readers' comment