Chelsea confirm new stadium plans remain on hold as permit deadline looms

Chelsea are approaching the deadline to begin construction work on the new Stamford Bridge, but plans for it remain on hold, as confirmed in the most recent Fans’ Forum, which was held last month but had its minutes published only today.

“The Club confirmed there are no developments regarding the new stadium so the project remains on hold.”

-source: Chelsea Supporters Group

After a long period of planning and exploration earlier this decade, Chelsea went through two public consultations to finalize plans for the teardown and rebuild of Stamford Bridge. Final approval from the local council arrived in early 2017, with the London Mayor’s office following suit on March 6, 2017. Section 106 provisions were approved by the end of that month, will the planning permission officially granted on March 31, 2017.

As per standard terms confirmed in the final permit decision, that gave Chelsea three years to the date to begin work on the project. Since it was set to be a complicated multi-stage process involving several different works, the start of each phase was given a deadline.

“Advanced works” start deadline: March 31, 2020 — demolition of ancillary buildings, railway decking, etc
“Demolition works” start deadline: March 31, 2022 — demolition of the existing stadium itself
“Construction works” start deadline: March 31, 2023 — building the new stadium superstructure
“Fit-out and landscaping works” start deadline: March 31, 2024 — finishing work on the stadium and the surrounding area

This time last year, reports began circulating of Chelsea looking for outside investment to help restart the project, with the advanced works slated to begin this summer. Clearly that has no happened, and it doesn’t look likely to happen anytime soon.

If nothing happens before March 31, 2020, Chelsea will be forced to reapply for planning permission if and when we do get around to dealing with the stadium boondoggle once again.