Plans for Buxton's new hospital reach '˜exciting stage'

In December the land where the former Buxton Waters bottling site was on Station Road was sold by Nestle Waters and in the summer outline planning permission for a new health hub was granted and will occupy two thirds of the site.

In mid-July 2018 a bid was submitted to the Department of Health and Social Care to support the development of an integrated community health and public sector hub in Buxton.

William Jones, Chief Operating Officer for Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, said: “It is a very exciting time and we are expecting to hear news about the bid sometime in October or November.

“In the meantime we are keeping up the momentum so we do as much as we can while we await further news. We have established a Project Board, including senior representatives from partner organisations, to start to develop a full business case for the scheme. This is where all the intricate detail on plans and costings will be developed over the coming months.

“Some initial survey and enabling work is also being carried out on site for the new road and High Peak Borough Council have awarded outline planning consent for the proposed site. We are delighted by progress so far and look forward to sharing further regular updates in the weeks and months ahead.”

The bid was submitted by Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust as the lead organisation for the proposal, with partner organisations from across health and social care, which include; North Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group; Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust; Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust; Three local GP practices; East Midlands Ambulance Service; Derbyshire County Council and High Peak Borough Council.

It was submitted as part of the latest round of the government’s Sustainability and Transformation Partnership funding programme, to identify proposals which will improve the infrastructure for integrated health and social care services in localities across the country.

Speaking after the bid was launched Councillor Tony Ashton, Leader of the borough Council, said: “I’m delighted that together we are making good progress on realising this exciting vision to provide the modern and efficient front line services that people rely on together in one place.”

The Station Road site has stood vacant since 2012. Nestlé wanted to turn the site into a retail and hotel accommodation, however the deal with Tesco fell through and in 2016 talks resumed about building a new hospital. Planning for the new access road on the site has also been approved by High Peak Borough Council but the plans for a new retirement village on the remaining third have been deferred due to design issues.