Derelict land in Derbyshire town destined for health centre now up for auction

Derelict land in a Derbyshire town which had been destined to be a health centre and apartments is up for auction for £700,000.

Land owned by Derbyshire County Council on the former Thorntons factory site in Derwent Street, Belper, is being advertised for auction with an asking price of £700,000.

Currently a derelict plot of formal industrial land covered in concrete, tarmac and weeds, the former section of the Thorntons chocolate factory had been destined to become an NHS health centre comprising a one-stop-shop for a range of ailments.

The NHS pulled out of those plans, which had been masterplanned to complement the county council care home and library which were opened in 2020 at a cost of £15.6 million.

Instead a health centre was planned and approved next to Babington Hospital, also in Belper.

Last year, two years after they were filed, the county council was formally granted approval by Amber Valley Borough Council for plans to build 60 supported living apartments for people aged over 55 on the remaining derelict plot.

This would need to be followed by a reserved matters application should those plans be supported by the subsequent owners.

The vacant plot would be accessed on a winding side-street off the A6 roundabout, running past Morrisons, Aldi and Belper Central Methodist Church, connecting to the existing library car park.

An SDL Property Auctions listing dubs the plot a “superb development site”, in an “award-winning town, steeped in history” and a “short commute to Chatsworth House and Derby”.

This comes as the county council continues on its approved route to sell the Ada Belfield care home on the adjoining site, despite mass opposition and a pledge from Reform to reverse the course agreed by the previous Conservative administration.

Cllr Joss Barnes, Reform’s cabinet member for adult social care, said the current sale or lease plan “is a good plan for Derbyshire” and would bring in savings and reduce the council’s overspend by £2.1 million.

Current residents in Ada Belfield have been assured that their costs to stay in the facility would not be increased by any incoming new operator.

The former Ada Belfield care home – next to Belper railway station – which was replaced with the existing facility on the Thorntons site, remains derelict and extensively dilapidated and has become the frequent host of crime, arson and anti-social behaviour, according to residents.