Chelsea Barracks development: stalled 440-home scheme to restart as new confidence in prime market sees super-rich buyers snap up London's 'bargains'

Work on the controversial Chelsea Barracks development looks set to restart, a year after it was put on ice as London’s housing market weakened, and a full 10 years since an early version of the project was condemned by Prince Charles.

In 2009 a plan to replace the former garrison for infantry soldiers with a series of copper, glass and concrete pavilions with 448 homes, designed by Richard Rogers, provoked the prince to appeal to its new Qatari owners for a more traditional design.

His intervention was criticised as “meddling” and made headlines internationally, with the scheme dubbed a “Gucci ghetto”.

Planning permission for a toned-down scheme was granted in 2011 but progress was slow and work was put on hold in 2013 amid falling prices.

The project subsequently restarted and by 2017 the first three phases of a total of six were close to completion, with homes priced from £5.25 million.

It has emerged that building giant Multiplex has been awarded the £250 million contract to build the next phase of the stalled £3 billion scheme, having been dropped from the project at the start of last year only weeks before work was due to start.

At the time Qatari Diar, the property arm of the Qatari royal family, blamed the “prevailing economic climate” in the capital for the decision.

Now it appears that the Gulf state, which also owns Harrods and part of the former Olympic Village at Stratford, is feeling more confident. After running a new tendering process it has agreed to keep Multiplex on the job.

The first Chelsea Barracks residents are due to move in this year, according to architects Squire & Partners.

The news comes amid claims that London’s super-prime market is starting to recover after four years of price falls, as some of the world’s wealthiest take advantage of the weak pound and scoop up “bargains” in central London.

The number of homes sold for £15 million or more increased by more than 40 per cent in the past year, according to Savills.

As well as being lured by the weak pound, these buyers have been tempted by some significant price cutting on trophy homes such as Mansion House, an 11,075sq ft property in Westminster.

The revamped former headquarters of the Liberal Democrats originally went on sale for £43 million in 2017. This was cut to £36 million and earlier this month it was relisted at £29.95 million, a total discount of more than £13 million.