Residents must be given opportunity to buy council car park and playing fields up for sale in a Derbyshire town, ruling finds

This comes after a community group lobbied Derbyshire Dales District Council over Derbyshire County Council’s Cavendish Road car park and adjoining playing fields – which are being marketed for sale and development into 30 homes.

The Matlock Community Land Trust was successful in seeing the site formally designated an asset of community value, which has now also been upheld by the district council following a challenge by the county council.

This could now be taken to a lower-tier tribunal by the county council but this has not yet been indicated.

The upheld review represents a significant win for the community group, made up of residents who have used the car park, with permission, as residential parking for 30 or more years.

It has its own set of plans for the car park and adjoining playing fields, aiming to buy the plot and build nine houses, retain some of the car parking, and construct allotments, gardens, a community orchard, picnic benches, a community lodge and polytunnel and a pond.

The county council barricaded the entrance to the car park at short notice in April, along with installing fencing over the back garden gates of two homes which back onto the site.

This has led to a legal dispute over historic access rights.

Closure of the site was linked to the county council moving its staff out of its Chatsworth Hall offices, which take up a significant site on the corner of Chesterfield Road, with no further need for the Cavendish Road car park, which acted as an overspill.

The district council said in its decision notice, seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “I do consider that it was reasonable to list the site as an asset of community value and that there is a realistic chance that the site could continue to be used social wellbeing or social interests of the local community.

“Having regard to the characteristics of the dwellings and roads adjacent to the site, the implication being that without the use of the site parking in the area, this may present an increased danger to the community.

“Therefore, reducing this risk, in the opinion of the local authority (district council) furthers not only the social wellbeing but also the interests of the local community.

“Following this review decision, should Derbyshire County Council wish to dispose of the land, then the community should be given the opportunity to develop a bid and raise capital to buy the land.”

A spokesperson for the community group said: “This is a great victory for common sense and for the local community in Matlock.

“At a time when local authority spending is stretched it was disappointing that DCC spent officers’ time in challenging the decision of another local authority and putting DDDC to the time and expense of defending their decision.”

A county council spokesperson said: “We are aware that the car park at Cavendish Road, Matlock, is listed as an asset of community value.

“This means that should we wish to dispose of the land we would need to notify Derbyshire Dales District Council as the listing authority of our intention to do so.

“This would enable a community interest group to have the opportunity to raise money to bid for the land.”

A district council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that, on request, we have carried out a listed review in respect of the asset of community value (ACV) designation for the land in question at Cavendish Road, Matlock.

“The review was carried out, as stipulated by law, by a district council officer of appropriate seniority who did not play any part in the original decision.

“That officer has found that the district council was correct in recognising and acknowledging that both the social wellbeing and interests of the local community are furthered by the continued usage of the land as a car park.

“The landowner now has 28 days to activate a right of appeal to the lower-tier tribunal.

“The ACV designation means that should the landowner wish to dispose of the land, then the community should be given the opportunity to develop a bid and raise capital to buy the land.

“It should be noted however that this does not give anyone the right of first refusal of an ACV – including community groups – and does not restrict whom the owner can sell their land to or at what price.”