Notting Hill terrace opposite Hugh Grant’s famous ‘blue-door’ home to become flats in ?30m transformation

As part of a?30million project, a luxury apartment building will be built on a terrace in west London opposite the blue-door-fronted house that was famously featured in the Notting Hill movie. The new development will transform 305-317 Westbourne Park Road, which is directly across the street from the home of William Thacker (Hugh Grant, 1999 film). It will include seven apartments and a row boutique shops. The apartments will be completed in autumn and will have two to three bedrooms. They range in size from 980 to 1,292sq feet and cost from?1.95million. The row of properties being renovated was once home to Nu-line Builders Merchants, a building materials supplier. It appears in several scenes throughout the film. The terrace was sold last year for redevelopment. Local estate agents called the “Notting Hill effect” a demand for W11 properties after the film’s release. The average property price in Kensington & Chelsea was?286,000 in 1999, compared to the current average of?1,452,000. Hugh Grant played the role of Notting Hill’s bookshop owner William Thacker (Hugh Grant). The film, which grossed more than?300m at the box-office, focuses on their relationship. The story of William Thacker, a bookshop owner, and Anna Scott, a Hollywood actress, begins with William spilling juice on Anna. The apartments will have south-facing balconies or roof terraces and include cinema rooms in two penthouse apartments. In 1999, Hugh Grant’s flat at 217 Westbourne Park Road sold for?4,575,000. A CGI showing the proposed design for a bedroom in one the seven homes. HandoutThe blue door, which was installed in the new development, continues to attract attention. William’s travel bookshop is now a souvenir shop. To capitalize on the film’s trade, the real-life bookshop that it was built has been rebranded “the Notting Hill Bookshop”. Martin Gilsenan (COO of the development’s lender Atelier) says that “More Than Two Decades After Hugh Grant’s and Julia Roberts sparked Notting Hill’s original Notting Hill effect,” this area is still in high demand.