Planning Application Determination – February 2026

There are two applications which can be viewed on Amber Valley Borough Council’s planning portal using the links below. The links include the full details of the applications.  

AVA-2018-0818 relates to the Belper Mills Complex, Bridge Foot Belper Derbyshire covers alteration and conversion of buildings and associated change of use to buildings collectively known as Belper Mills.

AVA-2018-0819 relates to the required Listed Building Consents for the alteration of buildings collectively known as Belper Mills.

Negotiations are underway around the possibility of a 125 year lease on the North Mill to be offered to a charitable trust (Special Purpose Vehicle) to allow additional funding to be drawn in to ensure the provision of a visitor centre/museum. 

“Belper Mills World Heritage Matters” Project, 2023-2024.

In February 2023 Derbyshire County Council, on behalf of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) Partnership, commissioned Amion Consulting (in partnership with Mosedale Gillatt Architects, Aspinall Verdi Property Development Consultants, and Appleyard and Trew Quantity Surveyors), to develop, and examine, alternative uses for the North and East Mills site in Belper. This project also considered the funding that would be needed to secure its long-term future as a key site at the heart of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. This study was funded through a grant from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, with match funding from Historic England, Derbyshire County Council and the DVMWHS Partnership.

This alternative options report to explored how to: 

Create a deliverable, sustainable and appropriate long-term future for the Belper Mills to: 

• Protect the important buildings, setting of the mills and World Heritage Site status
• Be financially viable to restore and operate sustainably into the future
• Meet the needs of local communities as well as regional and national needs.

Examination by the consultants of how different options would contribute to the environment and economy of Belper and the wider World Heritage Site was undertaken alongside public consultation and in-depth contributions from community audiences.

Based on the outcomes of the consultant examination and public consultation three detailed scenarios were presented with costings.

• Residential – including the proposal to for parking on the West Mill site
• Multi-generational living/working
• Commercial/Mixed used – which included a hotel element and additional parking on the West Mill site. 

Financial Considerations:

All scenarios offered a potential space for a visitor centre/museum. Detailed work on these three scenarios established the construction costs and development value. It is highly unlikely that any scenario is commercially viable in its own right, as all have a conservation deficit.  A conservation deficit is where the cost for conserving and repurposing a structure or building is greater that its market value once the works are completed.

* Note: the conservation deficit is not directly the difference between the capital cost and the net development value. This is because the scheme has been appraised on the basis of a 10 year cashflow model that includes ten years’ worth of income from the commercial elements of the scheme as well as receipts from the residential sales. However, this means that the conservation deficit may be worse if this commercial income is not realised.

Implications for the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site:

The report provided detail on a number of implications for the DVMWHS.

• Car parking – Including impact on the public realm and interpretation of the site around the mills and wider community. To address concerns it was proposed that the West Mill site (former Courtaulds factory) could provide additional car parking whilst protecting the archaeological waterpower-related features on this site. This would increase the development costs of the site and the overall conservation deficit (discussed above) to between -£22.49 m to -£35.27m.
• Visitor Centre – The DVMWHS Management Plan includes an objective in its management plan that the Belper North and East Mills site should include a visitor centre for the DVMWHS. A previous feasibility study concluded that to deliver an appropriate visitor centre, free to enter but receiving no public subsidy, it would require the whole of the ground floor and basement of the North Mill and all of the rental income from the upper floors of the North Mill to cover running costs. This does not impact on the development costs but does impact on the commercial values and therefore the conservation deficit. This will further impact on the viability of any scheme.

The report also outlined some key considerations:

• It is unlikely that any repurposing option for the North and East Mills buildings is likely to delivered by the private sector alone
• The DVMWHS Partnership has concerns over the appropriateness of the planning and listed building consent applications from the owner currently being considered by Amber Valley Borough Council. It believes these proposals will not be viable without significant public funding. This is backed up by the findings of the study.
• The consultants have suggested that, due to the level of conservation deficit, the best option is for a partnership between the public sector, or a not-for-profit organisation, working with one or more private sector partners. A future partnership or joint venture, which could include the current owner, should be explored once a decision has been reached on the current planning and listed building applications.

This project was funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic England, Derbyshire County Council and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site Partnership

Thanks to the project funders