A planning application which would have seen the end of a family-run Notting Hill Gate Italian restaurant popular with the community and celebrities has been refused.
The future of Da Maria was threatened by plans of neighbouring Gate Cinema to expand its foyer into the Neapolitan trattoria.
Food critic Jay Raynor, James Bond actor Colin Salmon and Coronation Street actress Julie Hesmondhalgh all opposed the proposal.
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Singer Lily Allen, who dropped in for a bite to eat in September, was also said to be behind the campaign to save the well-loved restaurant.
A petition was signed by more than 3,500 people opposing the cinema plans and the application was rejected at a Kensington and Chelsea planning meeting on Tuesday night (October 10).
The restaurant was opened in 1980 by the Ruocco family.
Luciano, son of owners Pasquale and Maria Ruocco, was at the meeting.
Afterwards he told getwestlondon: “This is great news for us. It was common sense at the end of the day because you’d be getting rid of a restaurant and a family just to extend a foyer.”
He paid tribute to the committee for “listening to the community and the people” but said he was unsure whether the applicants would appeal against the decision.
But he added: “We have people behind us and supporting us and whatever comes we will continue fighting our battle.”
Speaking after the committee’s decision, Councillor Will Pascall, deputy leader at Kensington and Chelsea Council and head of borough services, said: “I’m delighted that the application to expand the Gate Cinema’s foyer at the cost of a much loved local family restaurant has been rejected.
“This is a victory for the local community and small business and I hope Da Maria is able to go from strength to strength.
"Many local residents and visitors have been shocked at the threat to Da Maria and I hope the landlords now reconsider their plans.”
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