Developer hits crucial deadline for historic Belper Mills flats scheme
A DECISION COULD BE MADE AS EARLY AS NEXT MONTH
A DECISION on the future of the longawaited Belper Mills development project has taken a big step closer with the filing of crucial planning papers to Amber Valley Borough Council.
FI Real Estate Management (FIREM), which owns the UNESCO World Heritage site, is still in the running to take the project forward to the development stage, and has resubmitted documents required by the council before it could make a decision on the plans.
FIREM was given an extended deadline by the council’s planning committee to submit additional documents showing a future commitment to the costs of maintaining the listed site.
The company has confirmed that it has now filed those papers and is awaiting a decision on the plans, nearly three years after the application was initially put in.
A FIREM spokesperson said: “We can confirm that all the necessary documentation relating to our planning application has been submitted to Amber Valley council before their required deadline.”
A decision to green-light the plans could pave the way for the developer to convert the iconic East Mill building into a residential apartment building with 117 units, as well as numerous associated works including the construction of an atrium over six floors, and extensive restoration works on the North Mill building.
In April the Derby Telegraph revealed that FIREM has been in talks with another company over the future of the site, possibly involving a joint venture partnership or future sale to the firm, which specialises in restoring and converting historic buildings.
That company, Belper Mills Ltd, was founded in April this year. Records on Companies House show that one of its directors, David Howell, also sits on the board of UK Investment Group, a real estate firm that specialises in developing and restoring historic mill buildings.
Speaking to the Derby Telegraph in April, Mr Howell said that Belper Mills was of “strategic interest” to the company, with the future of the scheme now dependent on a decision by Amber Valley Borough Council.
FIREM first filed papers with the council in August 2018, since which time the plans have drawn considerable interest from residents and businesses in Belper.
It is not known exactly when the council’s planning board will meet to consider the application, though it is likely to be next month.