LAND understood to be owned by Tesco, which had been planned to house a superstore in Belper, has been put up for sale.
The 3.7 acres in the centre of the town, which includes the former Thorntons site, was to be used for a giant superstore.
But the plans, which included moving the football club and building new hockey, tennis and cricket facilities, were shelved in 2013.
The firm was also going to knock down the town's library in Bridge Street to make way for a relief road and build a new one in Derwent Street.
And a new community hall would have been built for the town's Methodist church.
But falling profits forced the company to give up their plans for the town.
At that time they remained committed to a site in Allenton but, two weeks ago, the company also pulled out of the area because of further money troubles.
The land in Belper is now being sold on commercial property site Nova Loca but has no guide price.
An application for another part of the former chocolate-makers' plant saw 100 homes planned.
Environmental community group Transition Belper has said that it hopes the site is given a structured plan for its future, to allow the area to be developed in the most sustainable way possible.
Secretary of the group Richard Keighley said: "We want to see a master plan for the whole area to stop the various sites being sold of and developed in a piecemeal manner.
"That plan is what Amber Valley have asked for and that is what we hope any developer will bring to the town.
"Ideally the area would be a mixed-use development combining jobs and houses, even light industry. But it really needs to be thought through for the whole site."
One of the key problems that opponents to the original superstore had foreseen was the access to the site.
The former Thorntons site is sandwiched between a number of different homes and businesses, meaning changes to highways in the area would be difficult.
Tesco had wanted to build a relief road between the A6 and the River Derwent.
But the destruction of playing fields and the removal of green space was met with anger by some residents.
Mr Keighley said: "Access has always been a problem and is something that again would be helped by having a master plan for the whole area.
"Belper has had its fair share of housing built in the town recently, more so than other areas in the borough, and we are not against that."
"All Transition Belper want is for the development to be in keeping with the rest of the town and its World Heritage status.
"We would welcome Tesco, or any other developer, talking to community groups about how the site can be best used."
Tesco declined to give a comment on the future of the site.
