What should be done with the old Nestle Waters Site?

Community groups have come together to see what people want and they recently met with members from the Derbyshire Community Health Services and the clinical commissioning group (CCG) to see if it would be viable to put a combined hospital service there.

This would incorporate the existing hospitals along with GP surgeries and provide a central base for ambulances, if the ambitious vision was realised.

Bryn Kelly, 62, from Chapel-en-le-Frith, believes this would be a great for the town.

He said: “A hospital would be a good idea. The Cottage Hospital has been downgraded so much that we need facilities here in the High Peak.

“Macclesfield and Stockport hospitals are still open, but they are quite far and in emergency cases you need something closer than a half-hour trek away.”

The talks with other interested parties come after Nestlé announced it was no longer working with the developer which wanted to build a supermarket, 60-bed hotel and restaurant on the site.

Belinda Taylor, 57, from Buxton, thinks more needs to be done in the way of entertainment for the town.

“We don’t need another hotel,” she said. “We have a Premier Inn now and there is all this fuss with The Crescent, so I am glad they have scrapped that idea.

“I think having a cinema and bowling alley would be a better use of the site - there is nothing to do in the town and it’s so far if you do want to watch a film.”

Nestlé plans to hold initial talks with High Peak Borough Council before setting out their plans for the future of the site, which could now take a new direction.

Daniel Taylor, 29, from Buxton, said: “We need something to draw people into the town and I think we need a really good Italian restaurant.”
The site has stood empty since 2012 when Nestlé moved production to Waterswallows.

Chris Mellor, 65, from Whaley Bridge, would like to see a hospital on the site. She said: “That would be a brilliant idea and very much needed in the area.

“It has a great community focus and would be a very worthwhile use of the site.

“The Cottage Hospital is well used, so a modern facility would be marvellous.”

The High Peak Local Plan – which is set for approval, aside from housing quota issues – states the Station Road site is not suitable for retail.

However, Shirley Ford, 69, from Dove Holes, believes it would be great to see more shops in the town.

She said: “We have a few clothes shops, but not many. I think a big shop like Matalan would go down well with people.

“A hospital would also be good, somewhere for minor operations and emergencies would really benefit the town.”
Youth worker Corey McVann hopes the town’s younger residents will not be forgotten when plans for the site are discussed. The 41-year-old said: “There is nothing for young people to do around here. We are very rural and a bit forgotten. Giving the kids an arcade or something similar would mean the world to them.”