Over the last year or so there have been significant improvements to the National Cycle Network (NCN) within Derby and the surrounding area.
These improvements include the removal of large numbers of barriers, surface improvements, and better signage.
Well done to Derby City Council, Derbyshire County Council Countryside Service, the Canal & River Trust and Sustrans for their efforts.
Derby Cycling Group, our members, and others have spent many years pushing for the improvements that are now in place. It’s great to see progress albeit sometimes at a frustratingly slow pace!
There is now just one location of very restrictive A frame barriers on the NCN in the whole Derby area (by the Paddock pub on Mansfield Road) – come on Derby City Council, get this location sorted as well!
Click on the maps below to see much more detail including before and after photos of various improvements. Once in the interactive map click on any of the green circles or red triangles denoting barriers or on the highlighted yellow areas denoting surface improvements.
NCN 672 – Breadsall Greenway
All (bar two at the Paddock pub) barriers have now been removed from the NCN and the link routes allowing access to the NCN. The barriers have been replaced by bollards to prevent access by cars.
There have also been improvements to the surface to repair previous flood damage and to try to prevent future floods.
The improvement work has been done by the Derbyshire Countryside Service in conjunction with Sustrans.
NCN 54 / 68 – Mickleover Greenway
All the barriers on the Greenway and those on the link routes to the Greenway from local estates have now been removed.
This includes the, very frustrating(!), gates along the route of the Greenway which have now been fastened back.
Between Etwall and the A516 bridge, the surface has been relaid.
At Egginton Bridge, the long standing flooding issues have been solved and the surface relaid.
All work has been completed by the Derbyshire Countryside Service – well done! The barrier removal work was funded by Sustrans and delivered through the Countryside Service.
NCN 54/68 – Mickleover Meadows
The route between Greenwich Drive South and Onslow Road in Mickleover has been widened, resurfaced with new tarmac and a number of barriers removed. In particular the “kissing gate” at Onslow Road has been replaced with a bollard.
There have also been signage improvements.
Not all the places where barriers have been removed are shown on the map for this section as “Before” images are not available.
This work was undertaken by Derby City Council as part of the Transforming Cities Fund
NCN6 – Riverside path
Long standing issues with flood damage on the Riverside path between Raynesway and Borrowash have now been addressed by an excellent project of tarmac resurfacing undertaken by Derby City Council and their contractors.
Alongside the surface improvements, the barriers near to Borrowash bridge have been replaced. There have also been signage improvements.
NCN 6 – Trent & Mersey canal
The tow path between Swarkestone lock and the old railway line route to Melbourne and beyond (the Cloud Trail) has been upgraded from crushed stone to a tarmac (with stone topping for aesthetic reasons) surface. This was undertaken by the Canal & River Trust using funding from the Sustrans Paths for Everyone programme.
The barriers on the route were improved (although not totally removed) making access easier although not perfect.
The future
We’re really pleased to see the improvements made in the Derby area and want to thank all the various bodies involved and look forward to seeing further improvements.
However (and there is always a however!), we’d also like to see:
- removals of barriers in the areas beyond those detailed above
- the creation of new NCN routes rather than just improving existing routes – particularly with regard to reconnecting NCN672 to the rest of the network, and to connect Derby to the north along the Derwent Valley (Duffield, Belper, etc.).
- continuing to improve the barriers on the links to the NCN from surrounding estates
- addressing some remaining access issues on the NCN such as pinch points, steep slopes, poor surfaces, etc. In particular, NCN 54 near to Friargate Bridge consists of cobbles and narrow tarmac damaged by tree roots!
Derby Cycling Group remains ready and willing to provide the Group’s experience, and that of our members, to assist in plans for further improvements.
Well done to all the organisations involved in the improvements. The work delivered on the NCN in the Derby area over the last couple of years greatly exceeds most other parts of the country.
Map backgrounds from OpenStreetMap.
