Our chairman Derek Latham met with the local MP John Whitby to talk through the ambitions of the cycle.
John said “This will be such an incredible addition the Derbyshire tourism”

Derbyshire County Council is assessing potential routes between Knowleston Place in Matlock and High Peak Junction in Cromford.
The proposed walking, wheeling and cycling route would complete a key missing section of the White Peak Loop and form part of the proposed Derwent Valley Trail.

Heritage Way Rangers have improved a long-standing damp section between Wildersley Farm and the Holly Bush pub in Milford. Drainage ditches and stepping stones now make the path easier to use.

Derbyshire cyclist and adventurer Leigh Timmis has become a Patron of the Derwent Valley Trust. Leigh cycled 44,000 miles across 51 countries and has set records for the greatest distance ridden in seven days and the fastest cycle across Europe.

East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward included part of the Derwent Valley Heritage Way in her 150-mile walking and cycling circuit of the region. Trust chair Derek Latham joined her for the section from Derby’s Museum of Making to Little Eaton.

The Trust is working with Catherine Atkinson MP to make the case for the Derwent as a National River Walk. The proposal would connect Derby, the World Heritage Site and the Peak District, and has attracted support from MPs, councils, regional organisations and environmental partners.

Plans for the Belper Mills complex have been approved subject to conditions. The proposals include homes in the East Mill, a visitor centre and offices in the North Mill, and leisure and commercial uses in Strutt House, with sustainable travel and cycle access an important part of the scheme.

Planning permission for the Belper West Bank section of the Derwent Valley Cycleway was granted subject to 17 conditions. Work now turns to resolving those conditions, fundraising and assembling the people and skills needed to deliver the route.

Tom Wright and Timothy Moffatt completed the full Derwent Valley Heritage Way in under 17 hours, raising money for the University of Sheffield’s student hardship fund. The Trust congratulates them on an exceptional end-to-end effort.