North East Derbyshire

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of three former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[1]

• Chesterfield Rural District (except parish of Brimington, which went to Chesterfield)
• Clay Cross Urban District
• Dronfield Urban District

The new district was named North East Derbyshire, reflecting its position within the wider county.[2]

North East Derbyshire District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Martin Thacker, Conservative since 22 May 2023
Leader	Nigel Barker, Labour since 22 May 2023[3]
Managing Director	Lee Hickin since 2021[4]
Structure
Seats	53 councillors
Political groups	Administration (28)   Labour (28) Other parties (25)   Conservative (19)   Liberal Democrats (3)   Independent (2)   Green (1)
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
2013 Mill Lane, Wingerworth, Chesterfield, S42 6NG
Website
www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk

Eckington, the second largest settlement in North East Derbyshire

Killamarsh, the third-largest settlement in North East Derbyshire and just adjacent to the border to Sheffield.

Clay Cross, the fourth-largest settlement in North East Derbyshire and close to Chesterfield

North East Derbyshire District Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Derbyshire County Council. The district is also entirely covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[5]

Since 2014 the district has been a non-constituent member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (formerly known as the Sheffield City Region); the council sends representatives to meetings of the combined authority, but the electorate of North East Derbyshire District does not vote in elections for the Mayor of South Yorkshire.[6] The district is also part of The Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Local Enterprise Partnership.[7]

Premises

Council House, Saltergate, Chesterfield: Council's headquarters until 2015, pictured shortly after it was built in 1938.

Since 2015 the council has been based at offices on Mill Lane in Wingerworth.[15] Prior to 2015 the council was based at the former Chesterfield Rural District Council's offices at the Council House on Saltergate in Chesterfield, outside the council's own area. The Council House had been built in 1938 and was substantially extended shortly after North East Derbyshire's creation in 1974.[16]

The district is entirely covered by civil parishes. The parish council for Dronfield takes the style "town council".[17]

Settlements in the district include:

• Arkwright Town and Ashover
• Barlow
• Calow and Clay Cross
• Dronfield
• Eckington
• Grassmoor
• Holmesfield, Holymoorside and Holmewood
• Killamarsh
• Morton
• North Wingfield
• Pilsley
• Renishaw and Ridgeway
• Shirland, Spinkhill and Stonebroom
• Tupton
• Wingerworth

The district, along with the district of Bolsover and adjoining areas in South Yorkshire, was a major producer of coal; a large seam of coal was discovered during the construction of the Clay Cross Tunnel in the 1830s. Coal mining became the main industry in the region.[18]

During the 1980s the Conservative government closed down many of the mines after a dispute between the government and the National Union of Mineworkers, which is known as the 1984–1985 miners' strike. The strike was observed by approximately 70% of miners in North East Derbyshire. It caused massive social upheaval as traditionally close-knit communities became divided between those who worked and those who did not. Striking miners went unpaid and were not entitled to state welfare benefits, meaning that thousands of families relied on handouts and poverty became rife. The strike was resolved by the spring of 1985 when the government effectively defeated the NUM and continued its policy of mine closures. The closure of the pits resulted in the closure of many associated industries, which decimated the local communities. Many former pit villages have struggled to recover. There are now no deep pit mines left in North East Derbyshire.

Following the closure of the pits there were large areas of the district left derelict, with old mine workings and spoil tips from the last 150 years of industrialization. Over the last few years these sites have been remediated and regenerated by open cast mining of the remaining surface deposits and reclamation of coal from the old spoil heaps. The sites have then been restored as a mix of parkland, business parks, and housing sites. A lot of the work is part-funded by EEC Coalfield community regeneration grants, to provide money to help clean up the environmental legacy and fund the creation of job opportunities by providing the infrastructure for developments. This has resulted in several large and some smaller business parks, now providing jobs for thousands of people, albeit not of the same skill level as the engineering jobs lost. A lot being warehousing and distribution, as opposed to the old engineering trades.

The council uses its coat of arms as its logo.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to North East Derbyshire.

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