Chelsea stadium expansion held up by Henry VIII with Tudor King’s ‘protected view’ in way of new Stamford Bridge stand

KING HENRY VIII has become an issue holding up Chelsea’s redevelopment of Stamford Bridge.

The Tudor king has a mound in Richmond Park which has a “protected view”.

Stamford Bridge’s redevelopment could be blocked because of a ‘protected view’ from King Henry’s Mound

GettyStamford Bridge would block the view of St Paul’s Cathedral if it was any higher[/caption]

Despite the mound being 6.1 miles away from the Blues Stadium it can block work being done to the ground.

This is because a protected view is the legal requirement within urban planning that is designed to preserve a view of a specific place or building.

The view from King Henry’s Mound is of St Paul’s Cathedral and it cannot be obscured.

This would therefore limit the heights of new stands at Stamford Bridge, as they could then be in the way of the 313-year-old building.

One way of avoiding this would be to dig down and lower the stadium, something that has been discussed according to The Times.

However, it is suggested that this could cause issues with neighbours of the football ground.

Chelsea’s new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital want to build a stadium or redevelop Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seater ground.

This is to be able to match the capacities at London rivals Tottenham, Arsenal and West Ham.

Chelsea fans want the ground to have an increased capacity with some struggling to be able to afford a season ticket.

The fans that are missing out are the ones that can be credited with creating the ground’s atmosphere, according to the report.

The Blues have played in Stamford Bridge since 1905 and there was a sports side on the site for the previous 28 years before that.