Plan to redevelop mills set to take step forward

Plans to redevelop historic mills in Belper, which form part of a Unesco World Heritage Site, are set to take a step forward.

Amber Valley Borough Council's planning committee is recommended to delegate authority to the authority's chief executive to approve proposals on 16 February from First Investments Real Estate Management for the site.

The proposals for the Belper Mills detail the site could comprise of 130 flats, shop space, a restaurant or cafe, office space and accommodate room for a museum.

The mills form part of the Derwent Valley Mills - which are situated along a 15-mile stretch of river between Cromford and Derby.

Planning documents submitted by the applicant state there are "clear public benefits" to the long-term reuse and occupation of the mill buildings.

The mills, a key part of the Unesco world heritage site, are in "poor condition" having stood largely derelict for decades.

According to the developer, revenue generated from the residential and commercial uses of the site, would support the maintenance of the mills.

Plans said these were "significant" benefits to the local economy and "the potential of Belper".

Jonathan Davies, MP for Mid Derbyshire, previously said possible investment of £4.5m by the Labour East Midlands mayor Claire Ward was "significant" in potentially unlocking the project.

"[The mayoral investment] is a real change because financial viability has been a big concern about this project," the Labour MP said.

"But I do know it's a very complicated application...Unesco world heritage site, Historic England, set a very high bar and rightly so for the quality of these developments and sympathetic they must be due to the historic nature of their surroundings."

The mayor's office previously said the owners of the mills needed to submit a business case to receive the funding by March before a decision could be made.

The application has been made to the government's Brownfield Housing Fund, which aims to support the government's housebuilding targets in local authorities across the country.

According to council documents, the application would be subject to a section 106 legal agreement in which the developer would pay £230,854 to improve local outdoor spaces and £353,057 to Long Row Primary School in Belper among other contributions.

Tim Knowles, founder and managing director at FI Real Estate Management, said in December: "Belper Mills, part of the historic Derwent Valley Mills, is a unique, historic site that we are very proud to be investing in.

"We are in the process of making an application to East Midlands County Combined Authority's Brownfield Housing Fund to bring forward 130 homes at the site, and we continue to work closely with Amber Valley Borough Council."

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