Planning battle over Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares restaurant

La Gondola went into liquidation in 2009

A planning battle over the demolition of a restaurant that featured on TV show Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares has been escalated to a government agency.

Developers want to demolish La Gondola in Derby and build two blocks of flats in its place.

Derby city councillors voted down the plans despite their own council officers recommending they be approved.

The developers have now submitted an appeal, and the building's fate will be decided by the Planning Inspectorate.

La Gondola, in Osmaston Road, opened in 1969 and was a popular restaurant and hotel for decades.

However, the business had declined by the time celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay visited to film his programme in 2005, with Ramsay describing it as "well and truly past it".

He tried to help turn it around, but it eventually went into liquidation in 2009.

Councillors are worried there are not enough parking spaces for the proposed 42 flats

Councillors on Derby City Council's planning committee refused the plans for 42 flats in January, as they feared there would be insufficient parking spaces, resulting in surrounding areas being filled with cars.

They also turned down similar plans for the same site last year.

The appeal, from Elgie Properties, disputes the councillors' fears.

It states: "When the proposals were initially submitted 11 car parking spaces were proposed.

"Despite the highway authority being satisfied with this level of provision, amendments were made during the application process, increasing this to 21 spaces."

The hotel has stood empty for years and has attracted anti-social behaviour including repeated fires, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The building was described as "dangerous" following a recent episode of collapse, and warning notices from emergency services are on display advising people to stay away.

The appeal has been declared as "valid" and a planning inspector will take on the case when available, which could include them visiting the site at some point.