Council backs £2.3m scheme

Derbyshire County Council has thrown its weight behind ambitious plans to protect and revitalise a historic valley linked to the birth of the industrial revolution.

By The Newsroom

Published 10th Apr 2013, 08:44 BST

Derbyshire Wildlife Trust is leading the development of a £2.3m package of work to conserve and enhance the cultural landscape of the lower Derwent Valley – including the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

Now, the county council has boosted the scheme by agreeing to join the DerwentWISE Landscape Partnership that will help the wildlife trust develop a detailed bid for significant Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant assistance towards the total cost.

The council is one of 15 organisations set to help with the bid which has to be submitted next month (May) with a decision expected in September.

The HLF has already approved the application subject to detail of the five-year programme covering the valley from Matlock Bath through Cromford, and down to Derby.