Transformation of old Chesterfield court to start within the year

Eagerly-anticipated work to transform Chesterfield's old magistrates' court into housing will begin in the next year, the Derbyshire Times has learned.
Chesterfield's old magistrates' court.Chesterfield's old magistrates' court.
Chesterfield's old magistrates' court.

Knightsbridge Court, which is located between Rose Hill and West Bars, was bought by Nottingham-based firm ARC Vantage last month.

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Adam Cavell, a director at ARC Vantage, said: "This highly distinctive listed building has the benefit of planning for 30 residential units.

"It is our aim to create high-quality inner city housing stock which we aim to deliver to the market in 2020.

"We are significant advocates of the regeneration of listed buildings in the Midlands and we see the purchase of Knightbridge Court as an opportunity to further this aim.

"Construction will begin within the year and will hopefully be the start of our larger regenerative objective within the area."

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In the summer of 2018, Chesterfield Borough Council approved a planning application to convert the prominent property into 32 apartments.

Knightsbridge Court was first vacated in the late 1990s and was partly used as an office in the early 2000s for a time.

It was put up for sale in 2015.

A council report about Knightsbridge Court last year stated: "The building has suffered sustained vandalism attacks, arson attempts and extensive internal and external damage.

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"If a use is not found immediately, the property is vulnerable to the elements and stands at a risk of rapid deterioration beyond the point of no return."

Designed by renowned architect, planner and academic Professor Joseph Stanley Allen, Knightsbridge Court was built in the mid-1960s and became listed in 1998.