Historic office block in Derbyshire town to be sold as cash-strapped council looks to cut costs and bring in more funding

Derbyshire County Council is selling the Chatsworth Hall complex in Chesterfield Road and Wellington Street, Matlock.

The complex includes six different buildings, ranging from one storey garages to four storeys tall properties, covering 3.4 acres and containing more than 6,800 square metres of floor space.

An advert for the property details that it is “suitable for conversion or redevelopment, subject to planning”.

It says the properties would be sold “subject to a number of occupational tenancies” and the rateable business rates value of the site is £155,000, while no offer price has been displayed.

The decision to sell Chatsworth Hall was made in a private meeting by Cllr Simon Spencer, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for corporate services and the budget, earlier this month.

Reports containing the background on the decision have been restricted due to the financial information they contain.

The only publicly displayed information is: “The land had been declared surplus to requirements and it will provide a capital receipt.

“The disposal will help achieve the savings targets and revenue target, which is a key action in the Council Plan 2021-2025.”

The authority considered alternative options, including demolishing the buildings and hiring a consultant to obtain planning permission for the site before it is sold.

It detailed: “The buildings at Chatsworth Hall were deemed surplus to requirements following a review of the Councils property assets in Matlock and closed.

“The unoccupied building will now deteriorate and could pose a danger to the public if left unsecured.

“The cost of securing and retaining the asset for future use is cost prohibitive.

“Retaining/remodelling the asset would require significant capital investment and would not be financially viable.

“Demolishing the building prior to marketing had been considered, however, this would incur a significant cost and time delay and rule out any buyer who might want to remodel or make use of the existing fabric of the building

“Appoint an external consultant to obtain outline planning consent for either a commercial, mixed use or residential development scheme prior to marketing. This option would incur a significant cost and time delay and rule out any buyer who might want to remodel or make use of the existing fabric of the building. In addition, there would be no guarantee that this would result in a significantly higher capital receipt.”

This sale of Chatsworth Hall marks the next step in the authority’s bid to reduce its sprawling property portfolio in a bid to become more efficient and sustainable – driving costs down and bringing money in.

The county council is Derbyshire’s largest employee with 30,000 staff, but most of its previously office-based staff now work from home either full-time or for the majority or part of a week.

For example, it detailed earlier this year that the average number of staff now working at the authority’s County Hall headquarters, also in Matlock, is less than 500 out of total capacity for more than 1,500.

That reduction is one of the reasons the authority is to move out of its County Hall headquarters into a planned new-build in its grounds and convert the historic complex into a hotel.

In July last year, the Local Democracy Reporting Service revealed that the county council was to close all 10 of its Chesterfield area offices and move more than 500 staff into a new building in Dock Walk, off Boythorpe Road, in a bid to save money.

One of these offices, the West Street complex called Reservoir House, is now being auctioned for sale with a guide price of £450,000.

It is accompanied by the description that it would be: “An excellent opportunity to acquire this desirable site which was previously used as offices and ancillary uses associated with adult social care, however, there is potential for redevelopment, subject to planning consent.”

Meanwhile, the council’s building at John Hadfield House in Dale Road, also in Matlock, has also been sold, with the complex currently planned to be demolished and replaced with an Aldi.