Private healthcare plans discussed for council HQ

Derbyshire County Council's Reform UK leadership has discussed a proposal to convert its headquarters into private medical facilities as part of renewed efforts to regenerate it.

Plans to turn the authority's current home at County Hall in Matlock into a hotel are due to be considered by Derbyshire Dales District Council in the coming weeks.

However, some in the county council's leadership team are understood to have concerns about the viability of elements of the plan amid a challenging economic climate for the hospitality sector.

The council acknowledged it faced "additional challenges" with the plan because of the economy but insisted it was committed to delivering the scheme.

It also denied it had plans for a private hospital on the site.

The BBC understands a private hospital or renting space to private health providers for areas such as dental care were put forward as a possible alternative to the plans and received "mixed reaction" from the Reform cabinet.

The proposal was said to be at an early stage and has not been progressed to more formal development.

County councils cannot unilaterally set up private hospitals, which in the UK are normally provided by private healthcare companies.

However, it would be possible for the authority to provide services on a commercial basis as part of a joint venture, so long as it was legally sound and did not conflict with local NHS commissioning responsibilities.

It would still, however, be incredibly rare.

Reform UK's national leader Nigel Farage has suggested in the past that healthcare should be rethought, in particular the funding model for the NHS.

However, the party has not adopted any kind of privatisation drive as official policy.

The County Hall building, known in the Victorian era as Smedley's Hydro, was originally used for health and wellbeing purposes in connection with Matlock's status as a spa town.

The site was used for hydropathic treatments and was promoted as a health retreat.

Plans to turn the site into a hotel were submitted in March last year by the former Conservative administration.

The plans will be considered by Derbyshire Dales District Council next month.

While it was initially hoped that work could start on the project in late 2026, construction work is not expected to take place now before April 2027.

The leader of the Derbyshire Conservatives Alex Dale said he recognised the "very challenging economic climate" but hoped the scheme would be seen through.

"If the plans do now need to change, I would want to see some assurance that any new ideas or proposals are based on sound financial information and a very robust business case, rather than just on a whim or as the 'bright idea' of one or two individuals," he said.

The leader of the Derbyshire Greens Gez Kinsella said the party "strongly oppose any move away from publicly funded health provision".

Stephem Reed, Derbyshire County Council's cabinet member for business services, said the project "aims to deliver a number of key benefits for the people of Matlock."

"There are additional challenges as a result of changes in the national economic landscape, so we've been working with a number of interested partners keen to work with the council, including well known hoteliers, to test the assumptions in the business case and make sure that we understand and mitigate any risks," he said.

"We remain committed to the delivery of the project and the benefits it will bring and the next big step will be towards the end of the year when cabinet will choose their preferred master developer partner to work with us on the fine details of the project.

"However, we have no plans for the development of a private hospital."

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