The development occupies 24,511 sq ft of space
(Picture: ES Composite)A west London terrace opposite the blue-door-fronted house made famous by the Notting Hill movie is to be made into luxury flats as part of a £30 million project.
Directly across the road from the home lived in by fictional character William Thacker, played by Hugh Grant in the 1999 film, 305-317 Westbourne Park Road will be transformed into seven apartments and a row of boutique shops.
Due for completion in autumn, the new apartments will have two to three bedrooms, range from 980 to 1,292sq ft in size and cost from £1.95 million.
The row of properties being redeveloped was home to building materials supplier Nu-line Builders Merchants at the time of filming and appears in various scenes throughout the cult classic starring Julia Roberts as actress Anna Scott. The terrace was sold for redevelopment last year.
The release of the film triggered a demand for W11 properties in a trend dubbed “the Notting Hill effect” by local estate agents. In 1999, the average property price in the Kensington & Chelsea borough was £286,000 compared to today's average of £1,452,000.
The 1999 romantic comedy, which earned more than £300 million at the box office, centres on the relationship between bookshop owner William Thacker (Hugh Grant) and Hollywood actress Anna Scott (Julia Roberts). When the couple first meet, with William spilling juice over Anna in the street, there’s a glimpse of the shops as he points out his flat across the road as somewhere she may change in private.
The Victorian terraces appear frequently in the film, including when Anna is swarmed by paparazzi after staying the night at William’s house.
Nu-Line, which had existed at 305-317 Westbourne Park Road since 1965, was sold for redevelopment in 2021.
This year, construction began on the seven high-end apartments and shops which will occupy the 24,511 sq ft Victorian terrace.
The development will contain three two-bedroom and four three-bedroom apartments, ranging from 980 to 1,292 sq ft in size. They will come with south-facing balconies and roof terraces, with cinema rooms in two penthouse flats.
Hugh Grant’s flat at 280 Westbourne Park Road last sold for £4,575,000 in 2014, while the original blue door sold for £5,750 at auction in 1999.
The newly installed blue door continues to attract fans, while the travel bookshop owned by William in the film is now a souvenir shop. The real-life bookshop on which it was based has since been rebranded as “the Notting Hill Bookshop” to capitalise on trade from the film.
“More than two decades after Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts sparked the original Notting Hill effect, this remains one of the capital’s most in-demand areas,” says Martin Gilsenan, COO of the development’s lender Atelier.
“[The project] will create a series of comfortable homes and vibrant businesses at the epicentre of the Notting Hill phenomenon.”
