Campaigners’ disappointment as Derbyshire council care home is to be taken over by private care provider
A Derbyshire union spokesperson has welcomed Derbyshire County Council’s announcement that its threatened Ada Belfield care home, in Belper, is to be saved by a private care provider but he has also expressed his disappointment at the privatisation of the facility.
The Reform UK-controlled council has finally announced that it will be transferring the operation of the care home to Welford Healthcare after contracts were exchanged on Tuesday, September 8, and the takeover is expected to be complete by September 30, subject to Care Quality Commission (CQC) registration.
Derbyshire UNISON Branch Secretary Martin Porter said “After the closure of eight other carefacilities in Derbyshire earlier in the year, we are really pleased thatAdaBelfield will remain open to provide a caring home for its residents and a place of employment for its dedicated staff.
“The news is a victory for everyone who lobbied, marched, rallied or campaigned for this wonderful place to be saved.
“However, UNISON is still disappointed that this much-loved home, which Derbyshire residents have invested millions of pounds of their council taxes in, will now be privatized and run for profit.
“This is particularly disappointing given that Derbyshire County Council is now building its own children’s homes to avoid profiteering by private care companies, and the People Scrutiny Committee is poised to embark on an investigation of the private care sector.
“We strongly believe this state-of-the-art building and its professional staff could and should have stayed in public ownership.”
The council’s former Conservative administration originally agreed to cease operating nine care homes in 2024 and to sell them on to care providers – includingAdaBelfield – while managing a multi-million pound budget deficit.
It argued there was a need to refocus adult care services by supporting more dementia patients and helping more people to stay at home due to what it claimed was a decline in demand for residential care.
The new Reform council adopted the strategy after the elections in May, 2025, and following the collapsed sale of eight of its care homes to a single provider in December and their subsequent closure the authority confirmed in April thatAdaBelfield was subject to negotiations with a care provider to take over the running of this facility.
UNISON had opposed the sales and closures from the very start, led protests, organised public meetings and repeatedly urged the council to rethink plans it says risk uprooting vulnerable residents and breaking up experienced care teams.
Belper Together campaigners have also always opposed the council’s plans to cease operating and to sell-off or lease its care homes including Ada Belfield with worries about privatisation and rising costs with fears for residents and staff and for Ada Belfield’s library and cafe.
A Belper Together spokesperson said: “Belper Together is very disappointed in the sale of the Ada Belfield Care Home as keeping the facility in public ownership was always the best option for residents as well as honouring the purpose for which it was built.
“As a private concern, its only responsibility is to maximise return on investment for share holders who have no direct interest in care provision nor its quality.
“As such, as we have seen in other cases of privatisation in the sector, care fees will have no upper limit resulting in the inability on the part of families to finance the care of their loved ones.
“Our concern is also around the other amenities at theAdaBelfield Centre as no mention has yet been made of either thecafe nor the meeting rooms, which currently serve an important role for friends and family as well as the wider public.”
Opposition Labour, Liberal Democrat and Green Party councillors had also previously joined campaigners and concerned residents in a failed bid to stop the former Conservative council agreeing to sell care homes.
These councillors also argued the decision would have a detrimental effect on some of the most vulnerable older people and the changes did not take into account an increasingly older population and what they believe is an increasing demand for residential care.
Nine Labour MPs also appealed to the former Conservative council administration in July, 2024, to reconsider its proposals to close the care homes after they claimed this could prove to be ‘devastating’ with ‘serious consequences’.
The Reform UK-controlled council confirmed in April that negotiations with an ‘established care provider’ had got under way for the commercial lease ofAdaBelfield care home after the planned sale of eight of its other care homes to a single provider had collapsed with their closure.
Cllr Joss Barnes, Cabinet Member for Adult Care, has stated there is not expected to be any changes to the care for residents atAdaBelfield and he was confident staff who support the residents ‘will move with them’ under the new provider.
He has argued the move to sell care homes follows a decline in demand for traditional residential care as people choose to stay in their homes for as long as possible and by the time they need to go into care they need more intensive support, such as nursing care, which the council cannot legally provide.
Cllr Barnes has also said supporting older and disabled people is one of the council’s highest priorities and it is absolutely committed to maintaining and developing quality residential and home care in Derbyshire.
The council stated that all current residents will be able to remain at the home along with current care colleagues and theAdaBelfield Centre’s library will be unaffected by the change as it will be leased back to the council at no cost and will continue to be run by the council.
Cllr Barnes said: “It’s been a long wait for our residents, their families, friends and carers, as well as our staff, and I’m pleased we’ve been able to finalise the negotiations.
“Welford Healthcare is an established care provider with an excellent reputation and runs many care homes.CQC rates them very highly and I have complete confidence in them continuing to provide excellent care atAdaBelfield.
“The health and well-being of our residents and their families is our top priority and I’d like to thank them for their patience, including our colleagues who have continued to work hard to support our residents throughout. I’d like to personally thank everyone for their ongoing hard work and commitment.”
AdaBelfield was offered for lease as a going concern following the council’s Cabinet decision to remodel its in-house care services.
The council pledged to only consider providers with a good track record and whose homes were all rated good or outstanding by theCQC.
Welford Healthcare, which is to take over the running of the home on Derwent Street, is a privately owned care home provider, operating 48 services across England providing care and support to more than 2,000 people.
Cllr Barnes added: “Helping Derbyshire residents retain their independence is at the heart of the transformation of our in-house care services andAdaBelfield is a part of that transformation.
“By remodelling our care services we’re able to support even more people to come out of hospital when they’re ready and help support the growing number of people with dementia and their carers by offering wraparound specialist dementia care.
“We’ve done this by working closely in partnership with our NHS colleagues at the Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust to create more community support beds to help with hospital discharge.
“We’ve also refocused our in-house services on specialist dementia care which means we can help more people to remain at home and live independent lives which is something carers tell us they want.
“The changes we’ve made are helping us create a sustainable care service for the future, able to help those who need us most.”
Cllr Barnes reiterated that there has been a decline in demand for traditional residential care as many residents prefer to live at home and in their communities for as long as they can.
He added by the time many go into care they often need higher levels of care, such as nursing care, which the council is not legally allowed to provide.