I am delighted to provide you with links to the Derbyshire County Council website.
https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/council/news-events/news-updates/news/cabinet-approve-proposals-for-new-cycle-routes-in-derbyshire.aspx
Late last week (and some 2 years overdue) they have finally produced a plan for improvement to the cycling infrastructure within Derbyshire.
"These plans show our ambition to cement Derbyshire as a world class cycling destination for everyone."
Before you all get too excited too quickly let's be a little cautious whilst we celebrate. I think that Clyde and I went to an event at Derby Velodrome when this project was kicked off in a blaze of publicity 3+ years ago. They refer to a recent 12 week consultation exercise before finalising the plan but I was certainly not aware of that from our attendance at the DCC External cycle users liaison group. I would have loved the opportunity to comment!
If we take the announcement at face value as an encoraging step in the right direction then there are some very interesting prospects for our ranger group in the Peak District.
The link above has links to a map and an executive summary of the stages being considered . The ones that I thought to be of interest are summarised below.
| Link # | From | To | Kms | |
| 17 | Buxton r/way station | Fairfield common | 1.5 | Medium term 3-5 years |
| 16 | Calton Lees | Rowsley | 2.7 | |
| 19 | Matlock R/way station | Cromford (High Peak Junction) | 7 | |
| 18 | Coombs Rd, Bakewell | Rowsley | 3.9 | |
| 21 | Ladmanlow, Buxton | Macclesfield Rd, Buxton | 1.7 | |
| 22 | Macclesfield Rd, Buxton | Buxton r/way station | 1.8 | |
| 15 | Baslow | Calton lees | 4.9 | |
| 20 | Harpur Hill, Buxton | Ladmanlow (HSE land) | 3.6 | Long term > 5 years |
| 17a | Fairfield Common, Buxton | Topley Pike | 5.3 | |
| 12 | Castleton | Bamford | 6.5 | |
| 68c | Matlock | Beeley Moor | 8.4 | |
| 68b | Beeley Moor | Holymoorside | 5.9 | |
| 68a | Calton Lees | Beeley Moor | 4.3 | |
| 23 | Ashbourne | Norbury/ Rocester | 8.5 | |
| 82b | Longshaw Estate | Dronfield | 10.6 | |
| 82 | Derwent Valley | Grindleford r/way station | 2.7 | |
| 82a | Grindleford r/way station | Longshaw estate | 3.2 |
Note: there are VERY few sections in the strategy which carry a priority threshold of less than 3 years. None of these are within our region, so not included in this summary.
The top section of my summary are routes which can be prioritised to be delivered within 3 to 5 years. This includes outstanding sections of the White Peak loop. Interestingly it also includes a section through the Chatsworth estate from Rowsley to Baslow; something that I discussed with the Derwent Valley Cycleway team, Peak Park and Chatsworth Land Agent last Friday (please let me know if you would like more info ref those discussions). 3-5 years for some of these sections is probably not unreasonable on the BIG assumption that the Monsal Trail, or equivalent stays in place!
The bottom section of the summary above is even longer term; projects unlikely to be delivered within 5 years. Again, some very interesting suggestions here and ones that would certainly be very exciting if they were to happen.
Mentally I am visualising an incredible network of safe cycling into, through and beyond the Peak District. I am drooling at the prospect! We have a new goverment that has pledged, along with the opposition parties, to put money into cycling infrastructure. We have a new MP in Derbyshire Dales. I think we should start to put some pressure onto them to try and make some of this vision actually happen.
Happy to discuss further
