Plans involving demolition at a Victorian children's home in Swadlincote have resurfaced - with the county council now seeking to knock just half of it down.
The move will help the council cope with a 75 per cent increase in number of children in care in South Derbyshire and Southern Dales in recent years.
Derbyshire County Council had planned to demolish Linden House family centre Swadlincote but this was rejected by South Derbyshire District Council in May last year.
Now the county council has returned with a new plan, but only seeks to demolish half of the children's home, which was built in 1871. It also aims to build a new extension to the building.
It had rejected the total demolition plans last year with South Derbyshire district councillors saying the proposal would result in a "high level of harm" to the area, saying that the reason for the application was not strong enough to justify this effect.
The district authority said at the time: "The proposal results in a high level of harm to and impact on the significance of the Conservation Area, taking into account both the loss of a building which contributes positively to the special architectural and historic character of it, and its replacement with a building which does not preserve or enhance the character of the area.
"Whilst the reasons behind the proposal are recognised, they fail to justify the level of harm brought about and equally the public benefits which arise are not considered to outweigh this harm."
District councillors voted to approve the new plans at a meeting on January 16 but the final decision will now rest with the county council.
The district council approved the new application because it felt the benefits outweighed the potential harm.
Councillors felt this time that the character and appearance of the conservation area would be preserved.
In a statement, they said: "The principle of the partial demolition of Linden House and replacement with a new extension is considered to be justified, with the public benefits demonstrated and outweighing the harm which arises.
"The proposal would ensure the character and appearance of the conservation area is preserved, with some enhancement to the property itself also realised."
They have however said that traditional materials must be used to carry out work on the repairs and new extension - this includes clay tiles and timber joinery.
Councillors also wanted to make sure that "appropriate" tree protection measures will installed before work starts.
A spokesman for the county council said: "Derbyshire County Council will first consider the views of South Derbyshire District Council’s planning committee, which is a key consultee for this scheme, before our proposal to redevelop Linden House can move to its next stage."
As it stands, the Linden House Family Centre is a five-bedroom, two staff-bedroom children's home owned and managed by the county council.
A number of extensions have been added to the three-storey building over the years.
The county council is now seeking to knock down these additions and build a new two-storey extension in their place.
It also plans to reconfigure the interior of the children's home.
The existing outbuilding at the front would be kept, but just one of several mature trees.
A "substantial" amount of asbestos has been found in the building and both a structural engineer and Ofsted inspectors advised that the home would need significant repair work to maintain its stability - stating that it was "not fit for purpose".
The repairs required are thought to exceed 75 per cent of the cost of building an entire new home.
There remains an increasing need for a children's home in South Derbyshire, with Linden House currently the only run by the county council in the area.
The county council currently has 11 children's homes, of which four care for children with severe disabilities and seven for young people with a range of needs.
Of the seven, Linden House is the only home in the South Derbyshire and Southern Dales area, which is an area of growing population.
More news in South Derbyshire
This increase in overall population is also reflected in the numbers of children in care from the this area.
While the overall number of Derbyshire children in care remained broadly the same between 2012/13 and May 2017, in 2012/13 South Derbyshire and Southern Dales had 24 children in care. At the end of May 2017 there were 42.
