Companies invited to bid for £200,000 contract for redevelopment of Chesterfield Hotel

Chesterfield Borough Council is seeking a lead architect and designers to take proposals ‘from concept through to planning approval’.

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Companies are being invited to bid for the £200,000 contract – which is due to start in October and last for around a year – as part of a tendering competition.

Last year, the council passed plans to demolish the former hotel building, which has been vacant for nearly six years.

In March, councillors approved an outline planning application to build offices and a 40-space car park at the Malkin Street site.

The proposals were submitted by Prestige Hotels (Midlands) Ltd, which owns the old hotel, and the council.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of the council, told the Derbyshire Times that the Chesterfield Hotel site is ‘highlighted as a key development opportunity’ in a masterplan to rejuvenate the Chesterfield railway station area as part of HS2 plans.

Coun Gilby said: “In April this year, funding of £2.4million for Chesterfield Borough Council to invest in HS2 infrastructure and the development of the Chesterfield station area was approved by the D2N2 LEP.

“The procurement of an architect-led design team to take forward the development of this site is a key part of that project.

“The design of the building should consider its key position as a gateway to the town centre.”

HS2 – the high-speed rail route which will link the north with London – will see HS2-compatible trains serving Chesterfield station, which is around 200 yards from the Chesterfield Hotel building.

Coun Gilby said ‘maximising the benefits from HS2’ was a ‘key objective’ for the council.

She added: “HS2 is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Chesterfield and to make the most from this opportunity we must invest in the delivery of housing, business and commercial development around the Chesterfield station area.”

Chesterfield Hotel, formerly the Station Hotel, opened in 1877 and closed in 2015, making it one of the town’s longest-running businesses.

It had been due to go under the hammer in an online auction in 2018 – but was withdrawn before the sale.

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