Tiny car park for sale for £2m: plot behind top Notting Hill restaurant comes with planning permission for iceberg basement house
A tiny car park squeezed behind a top-rated restaurant has become possibly London’s most expensive backyard after going on the market at £2 million.
The tennis court-sized plot in Notting Hill has provided parking spaces for Clare Smyth, the chef patron of the two Michelin-starred Core, and her head chef Jonny Bone.
However, it is up for sale with planning permission for a four-storey town house that could be worth more than £10 million when it is built.
A brochure drawn up by agents Savills shows that the five-bedroom, five-bathroom residence would have a double-level basement with a swimming pool and gym in the subterranean level.
Computer images show how the modernist glass-fronted house would be squeezed into a plot measuring just 0.06 of an acre. It would also have a terrace and a private parking place.
However, it is only accessible through a narrow cobbled passage, making the construction of the house a huge logistical challenge.
Land Registry records show that the plot is currently owned by Smyth’s company CS Hospitality, which bought the restaurant site off Kensington Park Road in December 2016.
The new owner will be just a champagne cork’s flight away from one of the most sought-after dining rooms in London, which opened in August 2017 and won its second Michelin star in last year’s guide.
Northern Ireland-born Ms Smyth, 40, held three Michelin stars as head chef as Gordon Ramsay’s flagship restaurant in Chelsea for a decade and was last year voted the world’s best female chef.
James Donger of Savills’ London development team said: “This site presents the opportunity to create a unique, expansive and private family home in one of London’s most desirable areas.” Ms Smyth was not available for comment.
In 2010 a similar-sized plot with three lock-up garages in Primrose Hill sold for £1.25 million, while in 2012 a double garage in Knightbridge changed hands for £525,000.