Chelsea lodges planning application for new stadium

Chelsea Football Club has lodged a planning application to build a new stadium at its Stamford Bridge site in west London.

The planning application comprises the demolition of the existing football stadium which has a capacity of 41,600 seats and other buildings within the ground, and the construction of a new larger football stadium with a 60,000 seat capacity. Other features include ancillary stadium-related uses including a club shop and museum, plus a separate restaurant/cafe use.

The new stadium involves excavation works to sink the new stadium by four metres to reduce neighbourhood impact.

It also involves the construction of new external concourse areas, with the formation of decking platforms over part of London Underground’s District Line and part of the Southern mainline railway.

The football club said that it expects the planning process to last until summer 2016. “If the application is granted planning permission there will still be a lot of work to do before redevelopment can start, including obtaining various other consents,” it said.

WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff and Schlaich Bergermann Partner are working together, providing structural engineering services in the planning application. WSP is providing civil engineering, transportation and environmental services on the project. German consulting engineer Schlaich Bergermann is a leading stadium roof specialist, responsible for the last three World Cup final venues of Berlin, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro.

The details of the application, including drawings, supporting documents, as well as the environmental statement, can be found on the planning portal of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham.