Urgent repairs to decaying buildings at Chesterfield's Walton Works are approved by planning authority

Extensive repairs to decaying buildings at Chesterfield’s Walton Works have been green lit by the borough council’s planning authority.

The applicant, DJ Atkinson Construction Ltd, has proposed works across 12 buildings on the site. A council officer recommended that the application for permission to carry out internal and external repair work be approved.

In a report to the authority, the officer said: “The building condition is rapidly deteriorating and the works are intended to stabilise the structure prior to further works to convert the building to residential use.

“The most sensitive works include the repair of Building 7 which contains an early form of fire-resistant construction and represents some of the most important fabric on the site.

“The applicant proposes to undertake specific areas of demolition including a 20th century lift shaft to Building 8.

“Masonry repairs using helifix bars are also proposed to Building 13 and Building 8.

“To Building 7 the applicant proposes to undertake works to replace the decayed and deteriorated timber beams which has led to structural collapse in three locations. The second floor is currently propped but requires urgent repairs. The applicant proposes to prop and carefully dismantle the arches in order to replace the timber beams, where they have deteriorated beyond structural integrity.

“Across all buildings a series of timber repairs are required. The applicant has put forward a series of possible methods of repair which has been considered by Historic England’s engineer and the LPA conservation officer.”

The applicant has already submitted a plan seeking permission to convert the complex into apartments and build more than 200 homes in the vicinity which is pending a decision by the council.

Vacant for nearly 25 years, the Walton Works site is on Historic England’s At Risk Register and has been given the worst possible grading for its condition.

Walton Works stands on the site of an old cotton wick mill which was built around 250 years ago. Building 1 is possibly the oldest one and may be contemporary with the late 18th century mill. An 1879 ordnance survey map records Walton Works as a candlewick factory comprising Buildings 7, 8,9, 10, 11, a predecessor of Building 4, Building 3, and the group of four small properties fronting a mill yard.

Robinson & Sons bought the site in 1896 and transformed the works into a production centre for medical lint, antiseptic dressings, cotton wool, and cardboard cartons. The company operated the site until 2002.