THE Prince of Wales appears to have emerged victorious in his battle to scrap a sprawling modernist development backed by the Qatari royal family in one of London’s most historic areas.

Less than two months after he made a plea for a more traditional scheme, a controversial design for Chelsea Barracks in west London by the architect Lord Rogers looks likely to be dropped.

A source close to the developers told The Sunday Times that the current application for the luxury development “is now dead in the water” and will be withdrawn next month.

It will be a coup for the prince, who has cast himself as the people’s voice in a series of battles with developers aimed at protecting the historic character of Britain’s cities.

Two weeks ago Charles came face to face with his opponents in the architectural profession, saying much of their work was still insensitive and overbearing. In a speech to the Royal Institute of British Architects (Riba) he said buildings should reflect the character of the area and called for “room to be given to traditional approaches to architecture”.

The row over the Chelsea Barracks site, home to the Guards regiments until the government sold it in 2007, erupted in April after it emerged that Charles had written to the emir of Qatar calling for the Rogers design to be scrapped. Charles commended alternative designs by his favourite neoclassical architect, Quinlan Terry.

A source close to the developer, Qatari Diar, which is the development arm of the Qatari royal family, said any new design would reflect the traditional character of the area.

“The plan will almost certainly be withdrawn before June 8, when a site visit has been arranged for members of the planning committee, as there will be little point in wasting their time describing a scheme which is no longer on the table,” he said.

“We will then wish to sit down with the stakeholders, including representatives of the Prince of Wales, Westminster council, local residents and possibly the mayor’s office. The aim will be to attempt to work together to produce a plan that will be acceptable to all of them.”

The move comes after The Sunday Times reported last month that a series of rushed meetings had been arranged between Qatari representatives and Sir Michael Peat, Charles’s private secretary, to reach a “mutual accord” over the design.

However, the prince’s intervention has infuriated the architectural profession. A number of the world’s top architects including Jacques Herzog, Zaha Hadid and Renzo Piano recently wrote to The Sunday Times condemning Charles for using “his privileged position” to intervene in the planning process. The Riba president, Sunand Prasad, also appealed to the prince not to interfere.

A spokesman for Qatari Diar did not deny it was planning to drop its application, but said the firm “continues to engage with the stakeholders and is listening to their concerns”.

A spokesman for Rogers declined to comment.

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