A Green Party councillor says it is a ‘travesty’ that a Derbyshire County Council care home is being sold and he believes the authority’s adult care chief should provide regular updates amidst the delays for residents, their families and staff.

The Reform UK-controlled council confirmed as long ago as April that negotiations with an ‘established care provider’ were underway for the commercial lease of Ada Belfield care home, in Belper after the planned sale of eight of its other care homes to a single provider had collapsed with their closure.

Green Party Derbyshire County Councillor, Gez Kinsella, who has supported Belper Together campaigners opposed to the sale, criticised the Cabinet Member for Adult Care, Cllr Joss Barnes, for his attempt to dismiss campaigners’ claims that there has been ‘no communication’ by arguing that Cllr Kinsella has been in consultation with the authority and council officers.

Cllr Kinsella, who is the opposition Green Party Leader at the council, said: “Cllr Barnes needs to focus on his responsibilities. It’s a travesty that Ada Belfield, built five years ago costing the tax payer £11 million, is being sold.

Opposition Green Cllr Gez Kinsella, Left, Joins Belper Together Campaigners At A Protest At Derbyshire County Council About The Feared Loss Of Rehab Beds At Belper'S Ada Belfield Care Home, By Ldr Jon Cooper.

placeholder image — Opposition Green Cllr Gez Kinsella, Left, Joins Belper Together Campaigners At A Protest At Derbyshire County Council About The Feared Loss Of Rehab Beds At Belper'S Ada Belfield Care Home, By Ldr Jon Cooper.

“However, now the decision has been made, the sale needs to process as quickly as possible – the original decision was made in November, 2024.

“Cllr Barnes needs to have the decency to provide regular updates to the people of Belper, staff, residents and their families.”

Cllr Kinsella argued that because he has spoken to council officers about the sale of Ada Belfield Cllr Barnes has implied the Green Party councillor is somehow responsible for communicating these conversations with staff, residents and families.

The Green Party councillor added: “I appreciate the tough job staff face in getting the details of the sale of Ada Belfield right but Cllr Barnes shouldn’t blame me for the lack of communication to the parties affected.

“This is quite a bizarre accusation and something that has never been levelled at me as a councillor before.

“Furthermore, I would point out to Cllr Barnes that there is a Members’ and Officers’ Relationship Protocol.

“This sets out that I have a duty, unless explicitly stated otherwise by officers, to treat such communications in confidence.”

Reform UK Cllr Barnes told a recent council meeting that positive discussions are still underway with an interested party to take over the running of the Ada Belfield council care home after the sale of eight other facilities collapsed forcing them to close.

He said: “We are currently in positive discussions with an experienced and established care provider about taking over the operation of the home, and work is continuing to finalise the details.

“We understand how important this is to residents, families and colleagues, and we will continue to share updates as soon as more information becomes available.”

Cllr Barnes responded to requests at a council meeting on July 15 from concerned Belper Together campaigners who are opposed to the planned sale and privatisation of the council care home’s operation as part of money-saving plans to restructure how the council provides adult social care support.

He explained the council has offered a commercial lease for the entire site including the care home and the building’s library and he stressed that the library will not be affected by any new leasing arrangements and it will continue to be managed by the council.

Cllr Barnes has also offered reassurances that the council has considered only providers registered with the Care Quality Commission and who have a strong track record of delivering high-quality residential or nursing care, rated good or outstanding.

The council’s Cabinet Member for Finance and Efficiency, Cllr John Lawson, said the decision to close the care homes is part of a wide-ranging plan to remodel the council’s in-house care services.

Mr Lawson added that the council’s in-house care service is now focusing on wraparound care for the growing number of people with dementia and their carers alongside closer working with health partners to increase the number of community support beds to help with timely discharges from hospital.

The council’s former Conservative administration originally agreed to cease operating nine care homes in 2024 and to sell them on to care providers – including Ada Belfield – 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 that Ada Belfield was subject to negotiations with a care provider to take over the running of this facility.

The council confirmed it has offered a commercial lease for the whole of the Ada Belfield site including the library which will be unaffected by any new leasing arrangements for the care home and the library will continue to be run by the council.

It still aims to transfer the Ada Belfield care home operation to a private provider as a going concern with the sale of a commercial lease which will allow the authority to still retain ownership of the building.

But Belper Together campaigners have expressed concerns over the delays after they have always opposed council 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.

Cllr Barnes has stated there is not expected to be any changes to the care for residents 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.

Prior to a council meeting on July 15 when campaigners posed questions for the authority, Belper Together made claims there has been ‘no communication, no dialogue with residents, families and staff’.

A Belper Together spokesperson said the group has renewed its determination to fight the council’s decision to sell the ‘flagship £11.5m’ Ada Belfield care home despite the authority showing little enthusiasm for reversing the decision to privatise adult social care.

The Derbyshire branch of the UNISON union has stressed its preference has always been to avoid the privatisation of public services and it has stated that the council’s efforts to secure a new care provider for Ada Belfield are ‘cold comfort’ for those affected by the eight closed homes.

The eight care homes the former Conservative council agreed in November 2024 to stop operating and to sell and which have now closed include: Briar Close, at Borrowash; Castle Court, at Swadlincote; The Grange, at Eckington; Lacemaker Court, at Long Eaton; The Leys, at Ashbourne; New Bassett House, at Shirebrook; Rowthorne, at Swanwick; And Thomas Colledge House, at Bolsover.