Derbyshire
Main towns: Derbyshire included two main areas, that administered by Derbyshire County Council, and the city of Derby. The county is split into eight main areas: High Peak (including Glossop, New Mills, Castleton and Buxton), Derbyshire Dales (including Bakewell, Matlock, Wirksworth and Ashbourne), North East Derbyshire (including Clay Cross), Chesterfield, Bolsover, Amber Valley (including Alfreton and Ripley), Erewash (including Ilkeston and Long Eaton) and South Derbyshire.
Demographics: The county has a higher than average over 65 population with the figure standing at 20%, compared to the national average of 18.6%. The county has a low proportion of black and ethnic minority residents at just 2.8% of the population. The largest single minority group is of Indian heritage and accounts for 0.37% of the county’s population. Recently growing numbers of migrant workers from Eastern Europe have been settling in the north east of the county.
17 areas in the county are among the top 10% most deprived in England. Although unemployment levels on the whole are in keeping with the national average, some areas fall below the national average as a result of the closure of coal mines across the county. Average wages in Derbyshire also fall below the national average. A high proportion of the population claims incapacity benefit, which is another legacy of the coal mining industry.
Life expectancy varies across Derbyshire and some areas have above average illness rates because of smoking, obesity and unhealthy lifestyles. Teenage pregnancy rates are also above the national average.
The county council is Labour run with the party holding 38 seats, compared to the Conservatives with 15, Liberal Democrats with 10 and Independents with one.
Population: Derbyshire has a population of approximately 996,000. The population is dispersed across small, rural settlements, which are often isolated. However, about 100,000 people live in the urban area of Chesterfield while 36,000 live in the second largest town of Ilkeston. There are seven other main areas with populations of over 20,000 residents. The population is expected to increase by around 11% before 2029.
Places of Interest: Derbyshire is a rural county of moors and hills with thriving tourist industries operating in areas of ‘outstanding natural beauty’. The county is home to the Peak District National Park, based at the southern end of the Pennines and the first national park in Britain. The county includes busy market towns such as Ashbourne and Chesterfield as well as idyllic villages like Buxton. The Georgian Spa town, based in the middle of the peak district, is the highest market in Britain.
House/Flat Prices: The average property price in Cumbria today, including houses and flats, is £195,000. The average price five years ago, in February 2004, was £125,000.
Planning issues: More than 2,000 new homes could be built in South Derbyshire after the region’s district council won some leeway on its local development framework. Hazel Blears this month approved three schemes to meet the district’s short term need for housing by 2013. The decision means that up to 1,200 homes can be developed at Highfields Farm with the potential for another 1,058 at Boulton Moor. However, ‘major design problems’ scuppered further plans to build 850 homes in Wragley Way and approximately 1,000 homes on the former Willington Power Station site.