Swadlincote Town Centre Site Earmarked for £3.5 million Council, Police, Library And Bus Station Scheme

A mystery 2.3-acre site in Swadlincote town centre could be the new multi-million-pound joint headquarters for the district council, police, library and bus station.

South Derbyshire District Council has pitched for £3.5 million to push forward the scheme, first revealed exclusively to the Local Democracy Reporting Service two years ago.

The council has pitched for funding from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership, a combination of councils and businesses, mandated by government, which gives money to public projects which will create jobs or homes.

It says the cash would be used for "the physical regeneration of the town centre in Swadlincote following a site assembly process which has largely been completed forming part of the One Public Estate scheme".

It adds: "The land that has currently been assembled is proposed to be delivered in two phases, being a new Civic Hub of around 9,290 sq m providing shared space for joined-up delivery of public services."

D2N2's feedback reads: "The project is a longer-term plan and therefore may fall out of the realms of the current timescales for delivery. Multiple land ownerships are required for the project to take place."

When asked, the council could not provide any additional details on the location of the site or the overall cost of the project.

In October last year, the district council revealed that it had spent £100,000 of government One Public Estate funding on architects and surveyors as part of a plan replace its current ageing headquarters in Swadlincote and move to a new building.

The council would share a new base with the police – who are also in ageing and outdated buildings which are inefficient to run – along with the town's library and bus depot.

It could see the council move to a new location in the town or stay at the current one in Civic Way, but in new purpose-built premises.

The council could well be housed in the middle or upper tiers of a new, taller building on the same site, with a car park on the ground floor and flats above, its chief executive, Frank McArdle said in October 2018.

It is hoped that the move would help cut costs and bring agencies closer together to improve access for the public.

The authority has been run from its base in Civic Way for 50 years and it has been dubbed an "ageing rustbucket" by Mr McArdle.

He said that leaving Civic Way would provide the opportunity for another business to take on the site and/or for the Green Bank Leisure Centre, which currently shares the spot, to expand.

The old market hall, which is currently used for council staff car parking, would also be vacated if the authority moved.