Derbyshire County Council continues to ‘finalise details’ over delayed plans to sell care home

Pictured Is The Ada Belfield Care Home And Centre, On Derwent Street, Belper, Courtesy Of The Belper Together Campaigners

Derbyshire County Council’s adult social care chief has told how positive discussions are still underway with an interested party to take over the running of a council care home after the sale of eight other facilities collapsed forcing them to close.

The Reform UK-controlled council’s planned sale of eight of its care homes to a single provider collapsed and led to their closure but the authority confirmed as long ago as April that negotiations with an ‘established care provider’ were underway for the commercial lease of a ninth facility – Ada Belfield care home, in Belper.

Cllr Joss Barnes, Cabinet member for Adult Care, said: “We are currently in positive discussions with an experienced and established care provider about taking over the operation of the home, and work is continuing to finalise the details.

“We understand how important this is to residents, families and colleagues, and we will continue to share updates as soon as more information becomes available.”

Cllr Barnes responded to requests at a council meeting on July 15th from concerned Belper Together campaigners who are opposed to the planned sale and privatisation of the council care home’s operation as part of money-saving plans to restructure how the council provides adult social care support.

He explained the council has offered a commercial lease for the entire site including the care home and the building’s library and he stressed that the library will not be affected by any new leasing arrangements and it will continue to be managed by the council.

Cllr Barnes added: “We have carefully considered only providers that are registered with the Care Quality Commission and have a strong track record of delivering high-quality residential or nursing care, rated good or outstanding.”

The council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Efficiency, Cllr John Lawson, also responded to campaigners questioning how the authority’s council tax increase might be used for adult social care.

Cllr Lawson said: “During the re-provision of residential services for older people our residents were supported to ensure they were offered suitable alternatives for their care. The decision to close the homes was part of a wide-ranging plan to remodel our in-house care services.

“The council’s in-house care service is now focusing on wraparound care for the growing number of people with dementia and their carers alongside closer working with health partners to increase the number of community support beds to help with timely discharge from hospital.”

The council’s former Conservative administration originally agreed to cease operating nine care homes and sell them on to care providers – including Ada Belfield – while managing a multi-million pound budget deficit.

It argued there was a need to refocus adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home due to what it claimed was a decline in demand for residential care, and the new Reform council took up the strategy and following the collapsed sale of eight of its care homes to a single provider in December and their subsequent closure the authority was at least able to confirm in April that Ada Belfield was subject to negotiations with a care provider to take over the running of this facility.

The council confirmed in April that it has offered a commercial lease for the whole of the Ada Belfield site including the library which will be unaffected by any new leasing arrangements for the care home and the library will continue to be run by the council.

It explained it aims to transfer the operation of Ada Belfield care home to a private provider as a going concern with the sale of a commercial lease which will allow the authority to still retain ownership of the building.

The council also stated at that time that discussions were ongoing regarding Ada Belfield and it was likely to be several weeks before specific details could be confirmed.

But Belper Together campaigners have expressed growing concerns over the delays after they have always opposed council plans to cease operating and to sell-off or lease its care homes including Ada Belfield with worries about privatisation and rising costs with fears for residents and staff and for Ada Belfield’s library and cafe.

Cllr Barnes has stated that Ada Belfield care home is due to be transferred as a going concern and there were not expected to be any changes to the day-to-day care for residents and he was confident staff who support the residents ‘will move with them’ under the new provider

The eight care homes the former Conservative council agreed in November 2024 to stop operating and to sell included: Briar Close, at Borrowash; Castle Court, at Swadlincote; The Grange, at Eckington; Lacemaker Court, at Long Eaton; The Leys, at Ashbourne; New Bassett House, at Shirebrook; Rowthorne, at Swanwick; And Thomas Colledge House, at Bolsover.

Cllr Barnes has argued the move to sell care homes follows a decline in demand for traditional residential care as people choose to stay in their homes for as long as possible and by the time they need to go into care they need more intensive support, such as nursing care, which the council cannot legally provide.

He has also said supporting older and disabled people is one of the council’s highest priorities and it is absolutely committed to maintaining and developing quality residential and home care in Derbyshire.

But ahead of the recent council meeting, Belper Together Chairperson Keith Venables said: “Ada Bellfield is an excellent care home. It would make sense to direct appropriate resources to keep it serving the community – why has there been no statement to clarify its future?”

The campaigners claim there has been ‘no communication, no dialogue with residents, families and staff’ but Cllr Barnes told the meeting that Green Party Cllr Gez Kinsella, who has opposed the sale of Ada Belfield and has supported Belper Together, has been in consultation with the authority and council officers.

Cllr Lawson also told the meeting that Government funding for Derbyshire County Council has been ‘woefully inadequate’ and the authority has also faced inflationary challenges and an increase in council tax has been necessary to fund services it is obliged by law to provide while the council is also working on significant efficiencies and savings.

He also acknowledged the council has had delays with publishing its accounts for the past two years and that he anticipates a short delay this year due to the re-working of ‘valuation methodology’ to ‘restate asset values’ but he added that the council is working to deliver the draft accounts for 2025/26 as soon as possible.

UNISON Derbyshire Branch Secretary Martin Porter had been pleased to learn Ada Belfield would survive but he stressed the union’s preference has always been to avoid the privatisation of public services and he described Ada Belfield’s position as ‘cold comfort’ for those affected by the eight closed homes.