Plan for hotel made famous by Gordon Ramsay refused

Gordon Ramsay had tried to turn La Gondola around as part of his Kitchen Nightmares TV series

Plans to demolish a hotel and restaurant for new housing have been turned down for a second time.

La Gondola, on Osmaston Road in Derby, had been a popular spot in the 1970s and 80s - but even an appearance on celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares TV show failed to stop its decline.

The building has been empty since 2009 and has been a target for anti-social behaviour.

But despite the plans being recommended for approval, a scheme to demolish it and build 42 flats was rejected by the city council due to concerns over a lack of parking.

A planning meeting on Thursday heard the site is so dangerous, fire crews have refused to go inside the building on safety grounds.

Documents state "part of the concrete ground floor has now collapsed fully into the basement".

But the Local Democracy Reporting Service said despite the state of the building, councillors refused the plans and expressed concerns that the proposed 11 parking spaces provided were not enough for a housing development of that size.

It was felt residents might use nearby streets, making current problems even worse.

The first refusal for 58 apartments in 2022 was made by council officers over concerns about poor design and the possibility of bats being inside the premises.