THE INDEPENDENT: The Prince of Wales was accused of grossly exceeding his constitutional powers after a High Court judge criticised him yesterday for an "unexpected and unwelcome" intervention in a high-profile £3bn property development which was then withdrawn by its billionaire Qatari backers.
The heir to the throne waged a two-month campaign to persuade Qatari Diar, a hugely wealthy property investment company owned by the Qatari royal family, to scrap the modernist scheme drawn up by the architect Lord Richard Rogers to redevelop Chelsea Barracks in central London. Prince Charles said his "heart sank" when he first saw the proposals.
Mr Justice Vos, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice, ruled that Qatari Diar breached its contract with the millionaire developer Christian Candy when it withdrew its planning application for the 12.8-acre site last June. This followed a face-to-face meeting between Qatar's ruler, Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, and Charles at Clarence House.
But the judge ruled that CPC Group, the company owned by Monaco-based Mr Candy which was Qatari Diar's partner in the scheme, was not entitled to a payment of £81m set out in the contract, finding that the Middle Eastern company had been left "between a rock and a hard place" following Prince Charles's complaints.
Lawyers for CPC Group argued that the project for the £1bn site foundered as a direct result of the Prince's decision to voice his disapproval of the "Brutalist" plans, which were taken off the table days before they were due to be considered by planners at Westminster City Council. Qatari Diar said the decision was taken due to planning concerns.
Last night, constitutional reform campaigners and the body representing architects attacked Charles for meddling in the democratic process and using "inappropriate behind-the-scenes methods" to kill off the complex drawn up by Lord Rogers, a long-standing target for the Prince's complaints about the lack of "traditional values" in modern architecture. 'An unwelcome intervention': What judge said about Charles >>> Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter | Saturday, June 26, 2010
