Belper Civic Forum

 The Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has dismissed the appeal by Chevin Property against the decision of Amber Valley Borough Council not to allow redevelopment of the building. Chevin Property wanted to replace the building, which started life as a private school c.1830, by a three storey block containing 15 dwellings and build a further block of 4 dwellings.

The Belper Civic Forum campaigned  to protect this historic building within the World Heritage Site and are very pleased with the Inspector’s Report which makes very interesting reading and will provide useful information and precedent should similar applications arise again. For example, in response to the appellants case that decay to the building in recent years had reduced the opportunities for retention and repair the Inspector stated, “In my opinion this amounts to deliberate neglect”.

 The feasibility study on the future of the school building concluded that a mixed community and commercial use, as advocated by the Belper Civic Forum, was likely to be the best option from a financial point of view. It suggested that the scheme would be self financing provided the former car park was developed for housing. The Belper Civic Forum has responded to the associated consultation and our response can be viewed here.Response.The Forum met the County and Borough Councils on June 19th, in order to discuss its proposals and the way forward.

The preparation by Amber Valley Borough Council of the Development Brief for the Meadows Edge area in Belper has been delayed. As a consequence, the Belper Civic Forum has postponed its next members’ meeting (oringinally planned for 16th June 2008) until further notice.