Blow to Candy brothers as residents back rival Chelsea Barracks scheme

The Candy brothers' plan for the redevelopment of Chelsea Barracks has hit a major hurdle.

Members of the Barracks Opposition Group, made up of residents' associations, have presented a rival scheme to Westminster council.

And at a meeting this week, council planners admitted to having serious reservations about the original Lord Rogers-designed proposals. The residents want Candy & Candy to take on the approach adopted by P&O, which withdrew its bid for the site.

This scheme shows buildings which its backers say are much more in keeping with the style and scale of the area, and with the council's brief for the site. Residents want the council to suggest to the Candy brothers that their design should be altered to more closely resemble P&O's one.

With Qatari partners, Nick and Christian Candy paid £1 billion for the site last year. In their scheme, half the homes would be private flats designed by Lord Rogers facing Chelsea Bridge Road. The other half would be "affordable" units designed by architects AHMM facing Ebury Bridge Road. The two sides will be separated by a "linear park".

Critics complain the design is "more akin to office complexes". They say the proposed private blocks would overlook streets and rob them of daylight.

Objectors met councillors and Westminster's planning team this week to express their concerns. They favour the P&O design because it has new houses built alongside existing ones, and would minimise loss of light. In the P&O scheme both private and affordable flats have shared gardens while the Candy design segregates the two elements. It also creates a pedestrian walkway linking Chelsea Bridge Road, Grosvenor Basin, Pimlico Road and Ebury Bridge Road.

James Wright, the Eaton Square resident and businessman who chairs Belgravia Residents' Association, said: "We would love the Candy brothers to take on the essence of this scheme. However, if the developers want to browbeat us they will have a fight on their hands."

Architect Paul Davis, who worked on the P&O plans, said: "We believe that value is created by making places and spaces that people can enjoy and choose to inhabit and visit."

Candy & Candy insist its project is "of the highest architectural quality".

Chris Candy said: "Our design has been honed over the last 12 months after extensive and continuing consultation with all local stakeholders and Westminster council officers, who have been supportive. We're confident we'll deliver a 21st-century development sensitive to the needs of the local community."