Blues were locked in lengthy dispute with the Crosthwaite family over amount of light the new £1billion Stamford Bridge blocked from houses but agreement finally sealed to allow building work to proceed
CHELSEA are finally clear to push ahead with building their new £1billion stadium after the club reached an agreement with the family blocking the project.
The Blues had been frustrated in their plans to construct the stunning new 60,000 capacity Stamford Bridge after one family objected to the plans.
Retired banker Nicholas Crosthwaite complained that the giant new structure would block the light shining on his home, just yards away from the back of the proposed new ground.
He and interior designer wife Lucinda had demanded as much as £20million from Chelsea in compensation before dropping their objections.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich refused to cave in to the huge demands, with the club saying they would only cough up £1m as a settlement payment.
The impasse led to a lengthy legal battle which threatened to scupper the whole project, which the club believe is vital for them to carry out to keep up with the biggest clubs in world football.
The Crosthwaite's attempted to gain a High Court injunction blocking the building work completely, delaying Chelsea's hopes of being in their new home by the start of the 2023-24 season.
But the Premier League side were given a major boost in their legal fight last month when Hammersmith and Fulham Council ruled they owned the air space over the top of the contested property.
That seriously weakened the family's position, and they have finally given up the fight after settling for a compensation figure SunSport understands is a long way short of what they were asking.
A Chelsea spokesperson said: “Chelsea FC have reached an agreement to settle the ongoing legal proceedings in relation to rights to light. The details of the agreement are confidential.”
The club are now able to press ahead with their plans, with all other planning permission in place.
The rebuild is expected to take up to three years, which would leave Chelsea needing to find a stadium in London to use on a temporary basis.
Wembley has been the long-time favourite to assume that role, and the success of how the national stadium has worked with Tottenham this season has been noted by Chelsea officials.
But there are genuine concerns over whether using Wembley would cause problems for supporters from South-West London getting to and from matches, particularly at night.
The London Stadium has not been ruled out, although the problems West Ham have experienced at the former Olympic Stadium have caused alarm.
The third possible option is trying to persuade residents around Twickenham to drop their long-standing objections to the rugby stadium being used for football.
