Funding of £2.7m has been awarded to Derbyshire County Council by Active Travel England to transform the former Little Eaton branch railway line into a greenway - a traffic free pathway for walking, wheeling, cycling and horse riding.
Work is underway to provide an all-weather 3.5 mile surfaced route between Little Eaton and Rawson Green, whilst maintaining a thriving wildlife corridor along the way. Completion of the Greenway is due in Spring 2026.
The project will provide a low carbon transport choice throughout the valley, linking communities and places of employment, and enable parents and children to access Little Eaton Primary School by foot, cycle or scooter.
The railway was built in 1855 as a branch of the Midland Railway, going north through Little Eaton and Coxbench to Ripley. The last train to run on the line was in April 1999 and the track was taken up in 2011.
The county council took over the disused railway from Network Rail in 2014. The transformation into a multi-user Greenway will add to the growing network that the county council is developing across the county connecting Derbyshire’s towns and villages with traffic free pathways.
Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, Councillor Carolyn Renwick said: “We offer many opportunities across Derbyshire for car free travel and leisure pursuits with the development of our greenways and this is a great use of a disused railway – bringing it back to life and providing a safe and healthy route between communities.
“This project will make it easier for residents to access local job opportunities whilst also reducing the impact of transport emissions on local air quality.
“We acquired the Clowne Branch Line at the same time as the Little Eaton route and the resulting Clowne Greenway, which we opened in 2021 has become a popular part of our cycle network of over 280 miles of traffic free trails that are family friendly and accessible to all. I am sure that the Little Eaton Greenway will be a very welcome and popular addition too.
“We’re grateful to Active Travel England for this support of our work to provide green travel infrastructure in Derbyshire. And this work also helps in our Net Zero ambitions for the county, by providing an alternative to using the car for short journeys.”
Active Travel England is a Government body tasked with making walking, wheeling and cycling the preferred choice for everyone to get around in England. The county council supports these sustainable travel ambitions.
Find out more about these at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/sustainabletravel.
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