Derbyshire County Council held a community engagement event on Wednesday 28th September, to launch the consultation on the proposal to transform the former Little Eaton branch railway line to a multi-user greenway. Representatives from Derbyshire County Council described the plan and explained the finer details of the plan to visitors, including a class from the local junior school.
The project will transform the disused railway trackbed between Little Eaton and Rawson Green into a multi-user pathway 3.6 miles long, providing a 3m wide surfaced path (similar to path forming the Great Northern Greenway through Breadsall). In Little Eaton a link will be provided from the existing cycle path, beside Alfreton Road, to the Greenway junction on Duffield Road by Bottle Brook. Access points will be made where the path crosses roads and at footpath crossings. The road crossings are shown to include ‘raised tables’, commonly used to slow traffic. At the northern end the path finishes at Belper Road, Rawson Green, where a link will be created with a shared path to the light controlled junction between Belper Road and Derby Road. Cyclists continuing north will join the existing advisory cycle lane on Derby Road.
This greenway will form part of the Derbyshire Key Cycle Network, eventually connecting to the Ripley Greenway. It will provide an extension to the National Cycle Network Route 54 and a further car free route for leisure and commuter cyclists in the area. The proposal lacks a cycle connection to Belper, a significant conurbation desperately in need of good connection to the National Cycle Network.
The consultation survey will assess the people’s interest in supporting the project and indicate the extent to which the infrastructure may be used. Demonstrating support and demand for the project are essential to ensure that it receives priority in being promoted through the bureaucratic processes then allocated appropriate funding and resources to complete implementation of the plan.
To this end we urge everyone to complete the consultation survey which can be found on the Derbyshire County Council website, before the 26 October 2022 when consultation closes.
Heritage of the line:
The Ripley Branch opened in 1855 for freight traffic, predominantly transporting coal. The line transported coal from the mines along the valley that extracted coal from the ‘Kilburn Seam’, sidings spreading either side of the branch line to the collieries. The largest colliery in the area was Ripley Hall Colliery, opened by the Butterly Company. The main materials transported being house coal, pig iron and pottery.
The passenger services commenced in September 1856, with three trains a day each way, increasing to 5 trains a day in the early 20th century. Competition from Trent Buses, between Derby and Alfreton, which closely followed the route of the railway hastened the end of passenger services which finished in 1930. Freight traffic continued until 1999 when the line finally closed. Eventually the track started to be lifted in 2011.