Over the last 18 months, we’ve been working to consider how we can make the most of the building in the future. An early action in the overall programme to deliver our vision has been the relocation of many colleagues from the north block to the south block, and this will be completed by the end of March.
County Hall started life as Smedley’s Hydro, and for many years hosted people who visited Matlock to take the waters and take part in a range of treatments. We are hoping that much of this history will be brought back to life with our plans for the building.
Restoring the building
Our proposals for County Hall will restore the historic building and introduce a world-class hotel and venue, alongside spaces for local businesses and community uses, new homes for local people and a revitalised Winter Gardens.
We want to create a place we can be proud of, which supports our local economy and businesses by making the buildings more publicly accessible and attracting new businesses to bring greater diversity and economic resilience to the town.
To help with the marketing of the buildings we will revert to the original name of Smedley’s Hydro for the purposes of this project.
We will be offering the opportunity for the local community to come and look at our plans in early February and will then submit planning applications to Derbyshire Dales District Council to seek outline approval for the plans.
The 2 community drop-in events where anyone can come and look at our plans are:
- Friday 7 February from 4pm to 7.30pm
- Saturday 8 February from 10am to 2pm
If you are at County Hall on 7 February and want to find out more we’d be pleased to welcome any employees from 3pm. The events are in the Members' Room.
We’ll keep you updated with any further developments. This is a long term plan, and those employees currently based at County Hall will remain so for the foreseeable future.