Chelsea are set to complete a major land purchase adjacent to Stamford Bridge in a major moment in their long term quest to redevelop the stadium.
Jacob Steinberg in the Guardian is reporting that the club have an agreement in principle to buy Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions, a veterans home, from the charity Stoll.
Development in Chelsea’s hopes of redeveloping Stamford Bridge – the Board of Trustees for Stoll, the leading provider of supported housing for veterans, has agreed in principle to sell the majority of its Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions site in Fulham to the Chelsea FC ownership group
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) July 19, 2023
This will not come cheap – it’s a big slice of land in one of the most expensive areas in the world – but it adds a huge amount of space and therefore flexibility for a project which is going to be a real challenge even with this breathing room.
The land in question (which you can see in red in the graphic here) abuts the matchday entrance to Fulham Broadway underground station, meaning a more direct access route could be built.
The massive money the charity get from the deal will allow them to build a fantastic facility elsewhere, while Chelsea remove one of the limiting factors from a tricky project.
This is fantastic news and I am delighted to read that all parties will benefit from this deal tremendously. I am even more delighted that Chelsea FC will continue to remain in its rightful home, whilst expanding capacity and upgrading the facilities. Looking forward to a greater match day experience.
It’s a long project but happy to see that bridge is expanding for more seater and innovative stadium
I’ve lived at Stoll for 18 years. My family live in Fulham. I depend on my family for help as I suffer from mental health issues. Moving would be a massive impact on my life. I hear an offer of £7800 will be given to the ones who have assured tenancy. I have that, and to be offered that sum is an insult. Less the £400 a year I’ve lived here. I’m happy to relocate in Fulham, but that sum would just cover the move and decoration job.
That place has housed Veterans since 1919. It is pure Sacrilege to sell ….. Everything is Money. The Veterans in Stoll rely on each other. All in the same boat so to speak. And the Trustees are gonna build a new place. I won’t be holding my breath. Funny how they don’t inform the residents. And we have to read it third Party.
In principle it sounds great, but it still has to go through local planning for anything major to happen on the ground development being expanded, I guess we’ll have to see it it gets the approval.
Stoll residents have been kept in the dark about the sale of their homes since the redevelopment plans submitted by Roman Abramovich were withdrawn.
Elderly and vulnerable residents not only lived through the Covid-19 pandemic and faced the fear of death; they also knew their homes were being sold.
Residents harbour no anger towards Chelsea or its fans, but they are angry at Stoll for the shoddy way they’ve been treated and at Stoll’s misleading propaganda.
“The massive money the charity get from the deal will allow them to build a fantastic facility elsewhere.”
Stoll was solvent before Chelsea, and Roman Abramovich bid to buy Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions. When that deal fell through, Stoll used Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions to borrow money, and they built homes in Aldershot and Chiswick. Those properties need to meet economies of scale. Stoll also claims there are not enough homeless veterans in London to justify keeping Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions.
They state that repairs to flats they have allowed to fall into disrepair will cost £10m.
The next time you walk from Fulham Broadway to Stamford Bridge, take a moment to consider that elderly and vulnerable people are living in fear because they are being forced out of their homes so that Chelsea can make a profit.
What a wonderful game football is!