Derwent Valley Trust

Discover Derbyshire's Valley

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Historic Mills in the Derwent Valley

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The Mills of Britain database provides an interactive resource displaying mill locations compiled from select digitised eighteenth and nineteenth century maps. This was created as part of the “Away from the water” project at Glasgow University.

As well as providing background information on the mills within the Derwent Valley (and across the rest of Great Britain) the tool provides an excellent interface for viewing historic maps from the 19th Century at a scale that shows lots of detail.

Access the viewing tool here.

Ian Jackson has been a good supporter of the Derwent Valley Trust projects. He has spent extensive time over the last many years investigating the historic mills in the valley. He has identified many more historic locations that are yet to be included on the “Mills of Britain” map.

Planning application for Belper section submitted

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We’re pleased to report that the planning application for the Belper section of the cycleway is now under consideration by Amber Valley Borough Council with an expected decision date in November.

This cycleway section runs, as shown on the map, from Chevin Road, past the Severn Trent sewage works, and then all the way to Bridge Foot at the north of Belper.

The application is available to view on the Amber Valley Borough Council web site here, applying reference number AVA/2024/0540. Amid a large number of documents available for viewing, it is useful to start with the Introduction,  and then take a look at the Design and Access Statement. 

Please register your support for the application by completing the form here Note that the form will automatically detect Amber Valley addresses but those from elsewhere are also able to add their support – just enter the address in the larger box below the “Address” question.

You are able to add comments to back up your expression of support but this isn’t necessary. The key thing is, when asked “Do you want to object”, to answer this with “no”. The planning process will take note of the degree of support for the proposals and adding your name will increase the likelihood of permission being granted.

The development of this section of the Cycleway will provide many benefits including providing an alternative route to the current unsuitable and dangerous Bridge Street along the A6. The provision of the Cycleway is a key part of the Belper Active Travel Plan recently created by Derbyshire County Council.

Belper Active Travel Plan

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Derbyshire County Council are working with their contractors to define active travel plans for three towns in the county – Belper, Ilkeston and Glossop.

The Trust has provided input to the Belper plans and a draft has now been produced which the Council is now asking for public feedback on. As part of the feedback there will be a public “drop-in” session at Strutts in Belper (DE56 1UU) on 20th May (3pm to 7pm) where detailed plans will be available and comments will be collected.

We’re very pleased to see that the Derwent Valley Cycleway forms a key part of the draft plan. We’d encourage anyone providing feedback, either using the forthcoming Council consultation process or face to face at the Strutts event, to emphasise the importance of the Derwent Valley Cycleway in addressing the existing issues with cycling in Belper.

As well as importance of the Derwent Valley Cycleway a key message of the plan, links from the Cycleway to key destinations in the town are also shown as important.

On Yer Bike, Belper!

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An interesting event is planned for the afternoon of Saturday 16th March 2024 in Belper.

It is hoped that the Derwent Valley Trust will be attending the event to discuss progress and ideas regarding the Derwent Valley Cycleway

Put the date in the diary and we hope to see you in Belper.

More information from the organisers here

Darley Abbey to A38 Cycleway

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Back in 2020 planning applications were submitted to both Derby City Council (responsible for the southern section) and Erewash Borough Council (responsible for the northern section) for the necessary permission to build the Derwent Valley Cycleway from Darley Abbey to the Ford Lane junction with the A38 across the fields near to the River Derwent.

After discussions with various interested bodies we (in conjunction with National Highways and their contractors) have identified a slightly different route at the northern end. In this modified plan, the route would follow the river more closely, pass under the A38 bridge over the River Derwent, and terminate at Ford Lane near to the Ford Lane bridge over the river.

This modification is judged by the planning department as sufficiently different to need a new application and thus the appropriate paperwork has been submitted to Erewash Borough Council with the original planning application being withdrawn. Those who commented on the original application may have received a letter informing you of the application withdrawal. National Highways have confirmed that the new (replacement) application has been submitted and will appear on the Erewash planning website as soon as it is processed by the Council.

One unfortunate side effect of this withdrawal / resubmission process is that all the comments on the original planning application are lost with the withdrawal. As soon as the new application appears online, and available for comments, we’ll be asking people to write in to support the modified plans.

The letters from the Council about the withdrawal of the planning application may cause some confusion but people can be assured that the project is progressing as planned (albeit slower than we’d hoped) and that the planning application withdrawal is just a bureaucratic detail. We look forward to the new planning application being rapidly determined and the project proceeding to the build stage.