£3bn Chelsea Barracks site set for approval

The £3billion redevelopment of the Chelsea Barracks site looks set to take a huge leap forward next week.

Revised plans for the 13-acre site have been recommended for approval by planning officers, making it almost certain the scheme will be agreed by Westminster council.

It comes two years after a modernist scheme designed by Lord Rogers was withdrawn by developers Qatari Diar following an intervention by Prince Charles. The Prince wrote to the Qatari prime minister saying the Roger plans "made my heart sink".

The new, more traditional plans, by architects Michael Squire and Dixon Jones, were drawn up in consultation with the Prince's Foundation for Architecture. They are more in keeping with the existing styles of the area than Lord Rogers's steel and glass vision.

The application is for up to 448 houses and flats, of which only 123 will be "affordable". However, the developers are offering £78million towards the council's affordable housing fund.

Other proposals are for a sports centre, shops, health centre and "non-residential institution/leisure uses".

The site's Garrison Chapel, which was given a Grade II listing in March by the Culture Department, is designated for "community use" and will be converted accordingly. Council officers included a list of conditions to go with their recommendation including the provision of public art.

The establishment of an air quality monitoring station could also be required at a set-up cost of £30,000 and up to £5,000 per year for the monitoring.

The officers' report recommending the scheme subject to the various conditions is available to the public from today, which is five working days before the planning committee meeting, as required by law.

The Qatari Diar application is what is known as "outline". This means that, once approved, detailed designs for the various buildings will still have to be approved. The scale of the scheme means that Westminster will refer the application to the Mayor's Office. It is not thought that Boris Johnson will object.