The East Midlands Mayor has stepped in to kickstart the plans which previously stalled due to viability issues
A CGI showing how the three-storey supported-living apartment block is set to look in Askew Grove, Repton(Image: Pozzoni Architecture)
Stalled plans for a block of affordable apartments on a former Derbyshire care home site are set to be kickstarted by the East Midlands Mayor.
Plans to build a broad three-storey block of 28 supported living flats on the former The Dales care home in Askew Grove, Repton, were approved by South Derbyshire District Council in 2023.
However, the scheme – from housing association Trent & Dove – priced at £7.75 million – stalled due to viability issues.
Now, Claire Ward, East Midlands Mayor, has approved £700,000 from the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) to kickstart the 28-home scheme after three years in limbo, via its £16.8 million brownfield housing fund.
A mayoral decision notice signing off on the £700,000 said: “Trent & Dove Housing had previously tendered for a building contractor to commence the works but was unable to execute the contract due to the viability challenges.
“Cushman and Wakefield have assessed the business case for this scheme at The Dales. Initial diligence enquiries have satisfactorily dealt with concerns raised through risk mitigation and condition precedents will be deployed prior to release of grant.
“This scheme specifically addresses South Derbyshire District Council’s strategic priorities identified via the existing Local Plan.
“A key theme of the Local Plan focuses on a required response to unmet housing needs highlighted in the wider Derby Housing Market Area (Derby, Amber Valley and South Derbyshire).
“EMCCA Officers are recommending conditional approvals, following completion of due diligence which concludes mitigations will be in place to address low level risks identified in the evaluation process.”
Charlie Riley, development director at Trent & Dove, said: “Trent & Dove is pleased that the Mayor is supportive of awarding the £700,000 grant to redevelop an area of brownfield land in Repton on the site of the former care home.
The proposed three-storey apartment block in Askew Grove, Repton(Image: Pozzoni Architecture)
“The EMCCA brownfield fund, alongside funding from Homes England and Private subsidy from Trent & Dove, to make the scheme financially viable, will create 28 apartments for rent and sale for over-55s.
“Development on brownfield land often costs more due to the removal of old materials and the need to make the land safe, which requires careful planning. Sustainability is a key part of our planning process, and we’re pleased to breathe new life into this land.
“This development is the first project between EMCCA and Trent & Dove. Morro Partnerships will build the new homes on behalf of Trent & Dove. These new homes will contribute to national housebuilding targets and meet local need.”
The Mayor’s decision has been agreed following consultation with the four councils which make up the combined authority – Derby; Derbyshire; Nottingham; and Nottinghamshire.
A business case report for the Repton housing scheme details that the project would be for supporting living retirement accommodation for over 55s, remediating half an acre of brownfield land.
The overall cost of the project is to be £7.75 million, with the business case saying: “The scheme enables a diverse housing offer of market rent and sale alongside affordable housing that would not have otherwise been delivered.
“Without support, the scheme would not proceed and the demand for market rent/sale homes will adversely impact affordability in this location. Furthermore, the shortage of affordable homes for rent will be exacerbated.”
Designs approved in 2023 show that the scheme would be a modern-looking complex with balconies on the first and second floors and a wrap-around patio on the ground floor. Access to the site would stem off the north-eastern side of the plot, near Fisher Close.
The scheme would include a communal garden area at the front of the property with a “wildlife garden” to the rear along with retained trees.
Of the 28 flats, 16 were to be one-bed flats and 12 would be two-bed.
Derbyshire County Council closed The Dales in 2012 due to budget cuts and a half a million pound repair backlog and had planned to replace it with 50 extra care apartments, but this did not come to fruition.
In 2021 it revealed that it was instead demolishing the building and selling the land, with the former site now vacant and fenced off.
