Mayor 'delighted' to allocate millions of pounds towards Derbyshire improvement schemes

Millions of pounds is being invested by the East Midlands Combined County Authority into a range of improvement projects across Derbyshire.

The combined county authority (EMCCA) has allocated more than £20 million from various funding pots towards Derbyshire County Council, which has now outlined its preferred projects and priorities for the funding.

The council’s plans for EMCCA's investment includes spending up to £1.2 million from the Transport for City Regions (TCR) feasibility funding towards investigating options for Shirebrook access and connectivity, as well as plans to regenerate the former Willington Power Station site.

The plans also include supporting a number of ‘active travel’ projects to encourage walking and cycling, while EMCCA has also allocated £2.5m of TCR funding towards development of the Chesterfield- Staveley Regeneration Route.

Members of Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet have now backed the updated pipeline of regeneration projects to benefit communities across the county.

Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward said: “Fast, fair growth is what my East Midlands Growth Plan is all about. I want everyone who lives in the East Midlands to benefit from improvements to the local economy. I am delighted to allocate the money to Derbyshire and look forward to seeing the projects progress. My mission is to ensure better jobs, fairer pay and new opportunities in every community."

The council said its potential projects have been organised into five programme areas:

• Growth Zone North – including Staveley Growth Corridor; Chesterfield’s Spire Neighbourhood/Station Masterplan; and proposals for the A61/Avenue site in Wingerworth;
• Growth Zone South – including South Derbyshire Growth Zone near Derby; New Stanton Park near Ilkeston; and redevelopment of the former Willington Power Station site;
• Market towns – including town centre redevelopment in Eckington, Killamarsh, Woodville, Clay Cross, Swadlincote, Shirebrook and Melbourne; revitalising Buxton, including relocation of the town’s library and museum; and Matlock Market Hall redevelopment;
• Culture, heritage and tourism – including expansion and integration of cycle and walking routes such as the White Peak Loop and Derwent Valley, Bolsover Loop and Bennerley; Chesterfield Canal restoration and completion of missing sections; and comprehensive regeneration and redevelopment at key sites within Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site
• Enabling infrastructure – including developing a flood resilience work programme; reviewing the design of Junction 30 of the M1; and completion of the White Peak Loop for cycling.

The council plans also include allocating £250,000 from the TCR Market Towns funding towards the installation of infrastructure to better manage visitor parking on-street in Castleton and Rushup Edge, which has been identified as a “significant issue” – police were forced to close Rushup Edge and Winnats Pass in January for safety reasons, due to the volume of double-parked cars.

Cllr Rob Reaney, Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration, said: “We’re committed to working with EMCCA to drive a higher quality of life through investing in the Derbyshire economy, backing our commitment to create more prosperous, green and sustainable places with opportunities for everyone.

“From building new road infrastructure to create jobs by opening up land for business development, to investing in skills and training to make sure we have a ready and able workforce to meet the demands of local industry, we’re confident we have a pipeline of projects to address some of the key economic challenges for Derbyshire as and when funding is available.”