A report is to be considered at a Cabinet meeting on 13 March 2025, which sets out the reasons why we believe that a master developer will be the most successful route to convert County Hall into Smedley’s Hydro.
The report follows 2 successful community engagement events in February, where local people were invited to come into County Hall to find out more about the project.
We agreed a year ago to return the main building to its original use as a hotel, build a more sustainable building for the council on site and to look at a variety of other new uses for the rest of the buildings to support the community and local economy.
Council Deputy Leader, Councillor Simon Spencer, said:
“We have a unique opportunity to restore this beautiful local landmark and return it to its original purpose as a hotel, and by doing so, support our community by growing the local economy, delivering new homes and generating jobs.
“The next stage in this important project is that we seek a master developer, who can share our vision and make it a reality.
“This project will bring significant investment into Matlock and reduce operating costs for the council. We are being supported by specialists, experts in their respective fields and in delivering this sort of project.
“We welcomed Mayor Claire Ward from EMCCA to one of our community engagement events and she was very supportive of our proposals.
“We intend to submit an outline planning application to the district council later this month.”