Apartments plan for historic courthouse and police station in north Derbyshire village

An application to North East Derbyshire District Council is asking permission to change the use of the historic building on Station Road, Renishaw.

Proposals include altering the Old Police Station and Courthouse to form 13 apartments, each containing one to three bedrooms. Twenty-three parking spaces including two disabled bays are envisaged across the site.

The parking layout scheme has triggered letters of concern to the planning authority. Councillor Jeremy Kenyon, who represents Eckington on the district council, said: “The proposed car parking area floods regularly. I have photos from 21 October 2023 showing the majority of the car park under water, and much of it in at least 50cm of water, and the entrance to the car park under around 1m of water. In recent years there has been significantly deeper water from flooding, which comes from the river Rother overflowing its banks.”

Keith Beswick, from Derbyshire Police’s prevention and partnerships team, said: “There is open and poorly supervised access into the proposed parking area, which will raise the risk of crime to vehicles left unattended here, with the lack of any proposed lighting being another aggravating factor. This risk will I expect raise the fear amongst residents of their cars being vulnerable to crime, with the likelihood of unplanned front of plot parking on Station Road, where vehicles can be viewed by apartments 2, 3, 9 and 10.”

Jo-Anne Oldfield of the neighbouring Sitwell Arms Hotel wrote: “I have concerns, with regards to the dust/debris and noise pollution that may affect my business/hotel guests during the project. We have regular main power surges in the hotel, will this project impact that further, during the renovation and after?”

The Old Police Station and Courthouse was put on the market in 2022 with offers of £750,000 upwards invited by Haybrooks estate agent who said that the building was a prime development opportunity. At the time of its sale cell blocks, court rooms and underground parking remained in the building. In recent years the property contained a private military museum.