‘We’ve been binned and left to rot’, say veterans who will be forced out of their homes by Chelsea stadium expansion

11 months ago 67

ANGRY armed forces veterans say they are being “left to rot” by Chelsea’s £2billion stadium plans.

The Sir Oswald Stoll Mansions overlook Chelsea’s ground and house war widows and 100 veterans who served in conflicts from Korea to Afghanistan.

The Sir Oswald Still Mansions overlook Stamford Bridge on Fulham Road[/caption]

Chelsea bought the block of flats for £80m as part of the £2b redevelopment[/caption]

The apartment complex is for veterans, who now worry they could be homeless[/caption]

But, residents told MailOnline they are being “binned” as Chelsea’s £80m bid to buy the site was accepted in October.

The iconic London Premier League club is looking to revamp Stamford Bridge into a 60,000-seat ground.

The Stoll Foundation will retain 20 of the flats in the complex and Chelsea won’t take possession of the others until 2025.

Paul White, 54, toured Northern Ireland when he was 18, and moved into the complex four years ago.

He said: “It’s very worrying but what about the guys and the ladies who have been here 30 years? It seems to me that they’re just going to be binned in an old people’s home and left to rot.

“I don’t think Todd Boehly [Chelsea’s chairman] is aware of it and if he was why would he be so caring for the US veterans while we are just brushed aside?”

Another military veteran, in his 60s, said: “The topic of conversation for most people is where are we going?

“It is incredible the lack of foresight and planning.

“There’s 80-year-old wonderful women, widows, here who are beside themselves with worry.”

The Stoll Foundation received 13 bids for the site, ultimately settling on an agreement with Chelsea in October 2023.

Stoll’s chief executive Will Campbell-Wroe told MailOnline that confirming a move date “is expected to be made in the next month or so”.

He said: “There is some anxiety amongst the residents and that’s understandable because at the moment we are not at the point where I can say this is the address and postcode where you can be offered new housing so of course they are anxious.

“Some of them do have complex backgrounds and experience with street homelessness, we are really aware and conscious of that but no one will be left homeless.’

“That sense of re-providing a community is absolutely at the forefront of our thoughts when we are thinking about what to do next.”

Colin Tiso, 57, suffers such severe PTSD from his time fighting in the first Gulf War he can’t leave his one-bed flat.

He previously told The Sun: “Because of my PTSD I struggle to leave my flat and I’m getting treatment for that. My anxiety is overwhelming. Whenever I get the newsletters with information about the plans I completely shut down. For me as an army veteran I’m scared.

“Leaving the flat terrifies me. If I can’t leave the flat then moving is going to be traumatic.”

The Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation, set up to support veterans returning from the First World War, provides ex-service men and women, and their spouses, with a home.

Most of the tenants are over the age of 60, with some claiming they won’t be able to physically manage moving out.

Chelsea FC has been approached for comment.