Council 'in negotiations' on takeover of care home

Derbyshire County Council has said it is negotiating with a care provider to take over the running of one of its care homes.

The authority announced it was to sell off Ada Belfield Centre, in Belper, to the private sector in 2024 as it faced financial pressures and said there had been a "decline in demand for traditional residential care".

The authority said discussions were ongoing and it was likely to take several weeks before specific details can be confirmed.

Last year, more than 5,000 people signed a petition against the closure of the care home, which opened in 2020.

The Reform-led county council said only providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and with experience and expertise in the running of registered residential care or nursing homes to a good or outstanding standard, were considered.

The authority said the library would be unaffected by any new leasing arrangements and will continue to be run by the council.

Joss Barnes, cabinet member for adult care, said the council was working through the details with the company and as the home was due to be transferred as a going concern, the day-to-day care for residents was expected to remain unchanged.

"We're confident that the staff who support our residents now will move with them to the new provider so that their care and relationships remain consistent," he said.

"It's very early days in the negotiations but we wanted to make sure our residents and their families, along with our valued colleagues, were kept informed of what was happening.

"We're cautiously optimistic and as soon as we have more information we'll let them know, keeping them informed along the way.

"Their wellbeing is our top priority and I recognise it's been an uncertain time for them since the decision was made in 2024."

Leader of the Derbyshire Greens, Gez Kinsella, said the whole process was "taking much longer than expected".

"My fear, as with the collapsed deal to sell the other care homes, is the deal falls through or it's not a good deal for council tax payers or those living in Ada Belfield," he said.

"Something is seriously wrong if the only way we can avoid the council going into debt is to sell its 'crown jewels'.

"It cannot be right that Derbyshire's flagship care home, built at a cost to the tax payer of £11m only five years ago is transferred to a private owner."

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