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The Rogers team has been left 鈥渟hell-shocked鈥� by Qatari Diar鈥檚 decision to withdraw its planning application for Chelsea Barracks, according to sources.

It is understood that Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners was only informed of the application鈥檚 withdrawal at 9am this morning, just one hour before it was made public.

A source on the project team blamed Qatari Diar鈥檚 change of mind on the intervention of the Prince of Wales.

He said: 鈥淨atari Diar was very sensitive to what the Prince thought of the scheme. I think he has a lot to answer for. We are confident we would have got planning permission next week if it hadn鈥檛 been for his intervention.鈥�

Westminster Council鈥檚 planning report was highly complimentary of the scheme, even though it stopped short of recommending the scheme for approval. This led the designers to believe their proposals would be given the green light at the scheduled planning meeting on 18 June.

The source added: 鈥淭he rug has been pulled from under us. After the positive planning report, we were confident of getting approval. This decision has left us shell-shocked.鈥�

A spokeswoman for Prince Charles declined to comment on the suggestion the withdrawal was due to his intervention, as did a spokesman for Qatari Diar.

There was speculation this morning that the involvement of the Candy brothers on the development team Project Blue (Guernsey) Ltd would shortly come to an end.

A spokesperson for Project Blue (Guernsey) Ltd said that 鈥渁s of today鈥�, Candy & Candy was still responsible for marketing and management of the scheme. It is understood Rogers鈥� involvement on the scheme has come to an end.

In an official statement, Richard Rogers said: 鈥淎fter two-and-a-half years of extensive consultation with the local community and statutory consultees, and the publication of an exceptionally complimentary report yesterday on the Chelsea Barracks application from planning officers at Westminster City Council, it is extremely disappointing that this application has been withdrawn in response to Prince Charles鈥� views less than a week before the Council was due to consider it.鈥�

Meanwhile, the decision left local campaigners against the scheme happy.

Georgine Thorburn, chair of the Chelsea Barracks Action Group said: 鈥淲e are all over the moon. We鈥檙e the only group who has stood steadfast in the view that this design was not acceptable to this part of iconic London. It鈥檚 all thanks to the profile Prince Charles gave to the development, and his concern about the capital city. His intervention was a noble act."