Belper hospital complex with potential for 70-plus homes heads to auction with £2.6m guide price

A substantial former historic hospital complex in Belper town centre, with potential for conversion to more than 70 homes, is to go to auction this month with a combined guide price of £2.63m.

The former Babington Hospital on Derby Road is being split into three lots, with a total of around 111,000 sq. ft of accommodation and several acres of land. All three lots will feature in a live stream auction held by BTG Eddisons Property Auctions on 30 September.

The largest, 70,000 sq. ft, lot has a guide price of £1.4m and includes a plot of over four acres. According to auctioneers, there have been positive pre-application discussions on a conversion to more than 70 residential units, subject to planning permission and other necessary consents.

The current planning use is C2, covering hospitals and other residential institutions such as care homes, while the size and configuration of the buildings provide scope for a range of alternative uses.

The two other lots, the New and Old infirmaries, consist of former hospital buildings of approximately 19,000 sq. ft, with a £675,000 guide price for the New Infirmary, and 22,000 sq. ft, with a £550,000 guide price for the Old Infirmary. Both include office space and parking and could be suitable for medical, care or assisted living use, offices or a business centre. Both lots also have potential for residential conversion, subject to planning, with detailed pre-application work supporting a change of use to residential.

James Vandenbrook, director at BTG Eddisons Property Auctions, said: “This is a substantial property disposal and an interesting proposition for investors and developers, especially given the positivity around an extensive residential scheme being developed on the largest lot.”

He added: “The sale of the three sites would also release valuable capital for Derbyshire Community Services NHS Trust from buildings which, following the opening of Belper’s state of the art new health facility, are no longer required.”

The former hospital was closed and decommissioned last month following the launch of the new £15m Babington Health Centre. The closure marked the end of almost two centuries of public service provision on the Babington Hospital site, which was built in 1838 as the Belper Poor Law Union Workhouse. Constructed from local Derbyshire stone, the workhouse was designed to accommodate up to 300 people, with several of the buildings classified as Grade II Listed.

Vandenbrook added: “The former hospital’s location is also excellent, whether for a residential development or any other new use. It is right in the town centre and a five-minute walk from the train station, with regular services to Derby, Nottingham, Sheffield, and London St Pancras.

“Clearly, the listed buildings, which form part of the largest lot, will need to be taken into account in any redevelopment proposals, but they are also part of what makes this historic site so unique.”

The Babington Hospital site will feature in BTG Eddisons Property Auctions’ live stream auction on 30 September, with combined guide prices of £2.63m across the three lots.

For further details and bidding information, visit www.btgeddisonspropertyauctions.com.