Chelsea stadium: Family blocking new Chelsea stadium demand £20m compensation in light row
Blues owner Roman Abramovich said to have blown his top when he heard about the family's rejection of his £1m offer
A FAMILY blocking the building of Chelsea’s new stadium are said to be demanding compensation of £20million.
Retired banker Nicolas Crosthwaite, 69, wants the pay-off because the new stands will block out the light to his family home.
Nicholas, interior designer wife Lucinda, 59, and their children Rose, 25, and Louis, 23, have reportedly been offered £1million.
But they are said to have asked for up to 20 times as much.
Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is said to have blown his top when the family turned down the club’s offer.
If agreement cannot be struck, it could scupper Chelsea’s plans to open the £1billion stadium in time for the 2023-24 season.
Nicholas has lived in his £4million cottage, just a long throw-in from Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge ground, for 50 years.
In May, his family took out a High Court injunction to block work on the replacement 165ft high, 60,000-capacity stadium.
In a letter to councillors, Rose said five rooms in their home would lose sunlight.
She wrote: “It is deemed as having an unacceptable and harmful impact.”
The family argue it could be resolved by replacing some of the 17,000 corporate hospitality seats with normal seats.
Yesterday, neither Nicholas, whose wife has links to the Duchess of Cornwall, nor a PR firm he hired would talk or discuss compensation figures.
The stadium has been granted planning permission but work cannot go ahead while the injunction is in place.
Chelsea’s lawyers are trying to get Hammersmith and Fulham councillors to agree to compulsorily purchase the site and lease it back to the club.
The council can override the injunction if the development is deemed essential for regeneration of the area.
The family argue that may be illegal and has vowed to fight on.
Councillors are being recommended to agree the compulsory purchase when they meet on Monday.
They are being told in a report “that it is highly unlikely that a private agreement will be reached”.
It adds: “There is a compelling case in the public interest for the council to acquire the land for planning purposes and enable the development to proceed and the public benefits to be realised.”
Fifty other homes will lose light but Chelsea are confident of agreeing payouts with their owners.