A little outside our normal area of involvement but we’ve been pushing for the reopening of NCN67 in the area of New Stanton Park near to Ilkeston.
New Stanton Park is a major redevelopment of the site of Stanton Ironworks comprising of 200 acres intended for use for new build high quality warehouse and industrial space.
The site sits on the cycle route between the Erewash Canal and Shipley Park (the Nutbrook Trail) which also forms part of National Cycle Network route 67.
The planning permission for the site granted in 2021 includes permission to realign the route of NCN67 with a condition that the realigned route needs to be opened before any of the new warehouses, etc. are occupied.
The map above shows the old route as the dotted red line (now closed), the new route as the purple line (built but not opened) and the connecting routes in yellow (still existing).
In 2025, the “old” route of the NCN67 was closed off so that it was no longer possible to travel from the Erewash canal towards Shipley Park. Initially the developers tried to make the old route hard to use (digging up tarmac, making it as muddy as possible) but people were still using the route. Eventually, the developers installed strong, spiked fencing so that the old route is now definitely unusable.
Also in 2025, the new route was built to an excellent standard. However, it has remained fenced off and not open for use. Originally, the developers said that the replacement route would be in place by August 2025 (in fact their signage still says this!) but there is no sign of the new route being opened.
The sum effect is that cycle travel between the Erewash canal and the remainder of the Nutbrook Trail is hard and certainly not suitable for families. The designated diversion route is to make use of Crompton Road and Hallam Fields Road which are very unsuitable for cycling (particularly for families) due to the large number of large lorries using these roads (images below).
The diversion route is not signed at all.
Despite the planning condition that the replacement route should be opened before occupancy of any units on the site, DX Group moved into their new Regional Hub and Depot in January 2025.
As the route is part of NCN 67, the Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (ex Sustrans) have been chasing the developers for progress since last year but, so far, without success. The planning authority (Erewash Borough Council) have been informed of the planning condition not being met and have created an “enforcement case” in March 2026 but again with no visible effect on the ground.
The Erewash councillors for the area of the New Stanton Park have been contacted and are investigating.
In the meantime, the excellent route from the Erewash Canal towards Shipley Park is closed (except for the unsuitable and dangerous diversion route) and has been for 8 months beyond when it was originally scheduled for reopening and 16 months after the first unit on the new Park was occupied.