New £15m Babington Health Centre officially celebrated in Belper
The opening of a new £15 million health centre providing modern community healthcare facilities for people in Belper and surrounding areas has been officially celebrated at a special event attended by the Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire.
Elizabeth Fothergill CBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, joined patients, local representatives, NHS colleagues and project partners at Babington Health Centre to mark the completion of the major development on Friday 16 October 2026.
The new health centre, on Derby Road, opened its doors to patients in August, bringing together outpatient and community health services previously provided from the former Babington Hospital.
Construction began in 2024, with the new health centre designed by Race Cottam Associates and built by Henry Brothers Construction.
The modern, purpose-built facility includes consulting and treatment rooms, a health education and group room and improved facilities for a range of community services, including physiotherapy, podiatry, community nursing, speech and language therapy, wound care and phlebotomy, amongst many more.
The centre was also given its name by local people, following a public vote in which Babington Health Centre received almost 69 per cent of the 1,734 votes cast.
Elizabeth Fothergill CBE, HM Lord-Lieutenant of Derbyshire, said: “It was a great pleasure to join everyone in celebrating the opening of Babington Health Centre and to see this important investment in healthcare for the people of Belper and its surrounding communities come to fruition. The centre provides a modern and welcoming environment for patients and the staff who care for them, while also reflecting the importance of this community’s history and the strong connection people have with healthcare in Belper. It is wonderful to see the vision for improved local health services become a reality and I wish everyone who works here every success for the future.”
Jim Austin, chief executive of Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Babington Health Centre, said: “Babington Health Centre represents a significant investment in the future of community healthcare in Belper and the surrounding area. It has been a big team effort to bring this building off the drawing board and into life. It combines thoughtful design which is sympathetic to the heritage of the site with modern facilities that can serve the community well into the future. It offers purpose-designed clinical space for multiple community health services – from audiology to wound care.
“It has been important that we respect the history of the former Babington Hospital and Belper Clinic, which our new health centre replaces, while planning for the years ahead and helping the local community feel involved. Public votes were held to engage people in the choice of internal colour scheme and in choosing the name of this new health centre. It is fitting that the clear-cut winner in naming this building carries forward the name of Babington from old hospital to new health centre, ready to provide a welcoming and accessible environment for future generations of patients.”
Ian Taylor, managing director of Henry Brothers, said: “Delivering the new Babington Health Centre has been a rewarding project in creating a purpose-built facility that will serve local people for years to come. It has been a collaborative process for our team, working closely with Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust, Race Cottam Associates and our supply chain to bring the plans to life while working within a live and historically significant setting.
“The completed centre is a fantastic addition to the local community, and it has been a pleasure to have played our part in creating a high quality facility for patients and healthcare professionals. It is particularly satisfying to see the building now in use, providing an improved environment for a range of community health services and supporting the future delivery of care in Belper and the surrounding area.”
Disability campaigner Siobhan Fennell from Belper was among the invited guests at the celebration to mark the opening of the health centre. Siobhan is the founder of ‘Accessible Belper’, which is a voluntary venture established to ensure the town of Belper is accessible for all people with a range of disabilities. Despite living with advanced Multiple Sclerosis and being in a wheelchair, Siobhan has continued campaigning for others.
Siobhan was given a tour of the new health centre. Siobhan Fennell said: “It looks really good and the accessibility has been thought about for different disabilities. For example, I noticed the lifts have braille - so many don’t. So much has been thought about which will make such a difference to people.”
Siobhan is a past winner of the British Citizen Award for her work to champion accessible communities.
Belper resident Keith Venables, on behalf of community action group Belper Together, said: “We are delighted with this publicly run new provision. Well done to all those that made it happen. It’s an amazing building and you can see the care that has gone into it.”
Background
The construction and opening of the new health centre marks the latest chapter in a long-running programme to transform healthcare facilities in Belper, which began with engagement with local people in 2018.
The original plans for a new health facility were developed before the Covid-19 pandemic, with the project subsequently paused as NHS and local authority services focused on the emergency response.
Revised plans were developed with local planning and heritage considerations in mind, with planning permission granted in 2023.
The new health centre has been built with sustainability in mind and includes solar panels and energy-efficient systems designed to reduce its environmental impact. It replaces the use of the neighbouring former Babington Hospital for the outpatient and community services now based at the new centre. The historic hospital building, which began life as a workhouse, has been decommissioned as it is no longer suitable as a base for modern healthcare.
The celebration marks the completion of a major chapter in the development of health services in Belper, with Babington Health Centre now providing a modern base for community healthcare for years to come.
About the new health centre
- It is accessible: purpose-designed and built with everyone’s accessibility in mind. That goes for all its 15 consulting rooms, 6 treatment rooms, health education room and physiotherapy gym.
- It is energy efficient: underfloor heating, solar panels and air source heat pumps are among its energy-efficiency features.
- It is built to BREEAM excellence standards – these are the widely recognised gold standards of sustainability in a project’s design, management and build.
- It is environmentally sympathetic: designed to complement the heritage of the local area, by architects Race Cottam Associates.
- Derbyshire Community Health Services NHS Foundation Trust’s estates and gardening teams have taken rose cuttings and restored memorial benches from the former hospital site to have a new life in the grounds of the health centre.
- Stone from the former Belper Clinic, which previously stood on the new health centre’s site, has been reused to create the walling outside the main entrance to this new building.
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