Derbyshire council commits £730,000 to park revamp after cinema project stalls

A grant of £450,737 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), matched by £279,263 from the council’s capital budget, will be used to create a new skatepark, new splashpads and refurbished pathways at Hall Leys Park in Matlock.

A further £150,000 has been allocated to Wirksworth Town Council’s project to renew its Meadows green space as a biodiverse parkland.

The UKSPF money was awarded to the council for the proposed conversion of the former market hall in Matlock, including a two-screen cinema, a long-planned development which is currently on hold again due to market conditions and cost inflation.

Councillor Steve Flitter, the Liberal Democrat leader of the coalition authority, said: “Our officers deserve great credit for rescuing this government funding to benefit both Matlock and Wirksworth. They were up against the clock, but delivered.

“The ‘progressive alliance’ remains committed to revisiting the conversion of Matlock market hall at some time in the future, but the great news is that the two new projects give the construction market time to improve while still utilising the 2023/24 UK Shared Prosperity Fund grant.”

The two new projects have been approved unanimously in the past week by both the district council’s community and environment committee and the UKSPF board.

Before making its decision, the council put out an open appeal for capital projects – prioritising Matlock, to ensure the funding still benefitted the intended community – and received nine proposals.

Ultimately, 82 per cent of the original funding will be spent in Matlock, including £268,000 going to improve the Bakewell Road bus station which was envisioned as part of a wider regeneration scheme around the cinema.

To comply with the funding terms, each project must be contracted by June 1 this year and fully completed by March 2025.

It is a big win for the Hall Leys Skatepark Project, a group of volunteers who have been working with the district council for 18 months to replace existing skate ramps which are now 20 years old and in poor condition.

Those wooden ramps, which have required much maintenance in recent years, will be replaced by stainless-steel structures with composite panels which should be resilient to the park’s frequent floods.

A stone’s throw away, a small paddling pool in the children’s play area – installed 15 years ago – will be replaced by a low-maintenance and more accessible splashpad.

Non-slip resin-bonded surfacing will be laid along the park’s main park to improve existing tarmac surfaces which, although maintained in good condition, have come to detract from the park’s appearance.

The ‘Broad Walk’ through Hall Leys will be revamped as a shared pedestrian and cycling route, helping to close a gap in the White Peak Loop between High Peak Junction and Matlock while providing an active travel link connecting workplaces, shops, neighbourhoods, the railway station and an existing trail across Matlock Bridge.

The Wirksworth Meadows project started in 2019 when the town council bought the land. Three public consultations have produced a plan for tree planting, additional seating, improved pathways, wildflower meadows and community spaces with a wildlife focus. The project went out to tender last month.

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