Amber Valley

This article is about the non-metropolitan district in the Midlands of England. For the associated constituency of the UK Parliament, see Amber Valley (UK Parliament constituency). For the community in Canada, see Amber Valley, Alberta.

Non-metropolitan district and borough in England

Borough of Amber Valley

Non-metropolitan district and borough

Ripley, the administrative centre of Amber Valley and the second largest settlement in the borough

Coat of arms

Shown within Derbyshire

Sovereign state| United Kingdom
Constituent country| England
Region| East Midlands
Ceremonial county| Derbyshire
Admin. HQ| Ripley
Government

• Type| Amber Valley Borough Council
• Leadership:| Leader & Cabinet
• MPs:| Linsey Farnsworth (Lab, Amber Valley)
Jonathan Davies (Lab, Mid Derbyshire)
John Whitby (Lab, Derbyshire Dales)
Area

• Total

| 102 sq mi (265 km2)
• Rank| 132nd
Population

(2022)

• Total

| 126,944
• Rank| Ranked 187th
• Density| 1,200/sq mi (480/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)

[1]

• Ethnic groups|

List

* 97.3% White
* 1.2% Mixed
* 1% Asian
* 0.3% Black
* 0.2% other

Religion (2021)

[1]

• Religion|

List

* 50.2% no religion
* 48.2% Christianity
* 1.3% other
* 0.3% Islam

Time zone| UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)| UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode|

DE, NG

ONS code| 17UB (ONS) E07000032 (GSS)
Ethnicity| 97.8% White
0.9% S.Asian[2]

Amber Valley is a local government district with borough status in the east of Derbyshire, England, taking its name from the River Amber. Its council is based in Ripley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city of Derby. The district contains four main towns whose economy was based on coal mining and remains to some extent influenced by engineering, distribution and manufacturing, holding for instance the headquarters and production site of Thorntons confectionery.

The House of Commons constituency of Amber Valley is of smaller scope.

The village of Crich and other parts of the district were the setting for ITV drama series Peak Practice.

## History

[edit]

The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of nine districts within Derbyshire. The new district covered the area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time:[3]

* Alfreton Urban District
* Belper Rural District
* Belper Urban District
* Heanor Urban District
* Ripley Urban District

The new district was named Amber Valley, after the River Amber.[4] Amber Valley was granted borough status in 1989, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[5]

## Governance

[edit]

Amber Valley Borough Council

Type
Type|

Non-metropolitan district council

Leadership

Mayor

Paul Lobley,
Labour
since 22 May 2024

Leader

Chris Emmas-Williams,
Labour
since 24 May 2023

Chief Executive

Simon Gladwin
since December 2023[6]

Structure
Seats| 42

Political groups

Administration (26)
Labour (26)
Opposition (16)
Conservative (8)
Green (5)
Belper Independents (2)
Liberal Democrats (1)
Elections

Last election

| 4 May 2023

Next election

| 6 May 2027
Meeting place
Town Hall, Market Place, Ripley, DE5 3BT
Website
www.ambervalley.gov.uk

Amber Valley Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Derbyshire County Council. Most of the district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[7]

### Political control

[edit]

Labour won a majority on the council at the 2023 election, taking control from the Conservatives.[8]

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[9][10]

Party in control | Years

|

| Labour | 1974–1976
| No overall control | 1976–1980
| Labour | 1980–1987
| No overall control | 1987–1988
| Conservative | 1988–1991
| Labour | 1991–2000
| Conservative | 2000–2014
| Labour | 2014–2015
| Conservative | 2015–2019
| Labour | 2019–2021
| Conservative | 2021–2023
| Labour | 2023–present

### Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Amber Valley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:[11]

Councillor | Party | From | To

|
|
|

Alan Cox |  | Conservative | pre-2003 | 17 Dec 2007
Stuart Bradford |  | Conservative | 17 Dec 2007 | 11 Jun 2014
Paul Jones |  | Labour | 11 Jun 2014 | 20 May 2015
Alan Cox |  | Conservative | 20 May 2015 | 8 May 2016
Kevin Buttery |  | Conservative | 25 May 2016 | 22 May 2019
Chris Emmas-Williams |  | Labour | 22 May 2019 | 9 May 2021
Kevin Buttery |  | Conservative | 19 May 2021 | 24 May 2023
Chris Emmas-Williams |  | Labour | 24 May 2023 |

### Composition

[edit]

Following the 2023 election and changes of allegiance and a by-election up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:[12][13]

Party  | Councillors

|

| Labour | 26
| Conservative | 8
| Green | 5
| Belper Independents | 2
| Liberal Democrats | 1
Total  | 42

The next election is due in 2027.

### Premises

[edit]

The council is based at Ripley Town Hall, which had been built in 1881 as a market hall and converted to a town hall for the former Ripley Urban District Council in 1907. A modern extension to the west of the building was added in the 1990s.[14]

## Elections

[edit]

Main article: Amber Valley Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 42 councillors elected from 18 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[15]

Alfreton, the largest settlement in the Amber Valley district Heanor, the third-largest settlement in Amber Valley Crich Stand

## Towns of Amber Valley

[edit]

* Alfreton
* Belper
* Heanor
* Ripley

## Main villages of Amber Valley

[edit]

* Ambergate
* Codnor
* Crich
* Denby
* Duffield
* Heage
* Holbrook
* Horsley
* Horsley Woodhouse
* Kedleston
* Kilburn
* Langley Mill
* Lea & Holloway
* Mackworth
* Milford
* Quarndon
* Riddings
* Smalley
* Somercotes
* Swanwick
* Whatstandwell

## Parishes

[edit]

Map of Amber Valley district

There are 35 civil parishes in the borough, covering almost the whole area. The exception is Riddings, which is an unparished area, being the only part of the former Alfreton Urban District not to have been subsequently added to a parish.[16]

* Aldercar and Langley Mill
* Alderwasley
* Alfreton
* Ashleyhay
* Belper
* Codnor
* Crich
* Denby
* Dethick, Lea and Holloway
* Duffield
* Hazelwood
* Heanor and Loscoe
* Holbrook
* Horsley
* Horsley Woodhouse
* Idridgehay and Alton
* Ironville
* Kedleston
* Kilburn
* Kirk Langley
* Mackworth
* Mapperley
* Pentrich
* Quarndon
* Ravensdale Park
* Ripley
* Shipley
* Shottle and Postern
* Smalley
* Somercotes
* South Wingfield
* Swanwick
* Turnditch
* Weston Underwood
* Windley

## Arms

[edit]

Coat of arms of Amber Valley

Notes
Granted 18 October 1989 [17]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours the battlements of a tower Proper issuant therefrom between two abbatical crosiers Or an oak tree Proper fructed and ensigned by a crown of fleurs-de-lys Gold.
Escutcheon
Vert a pale wavy Or a bordure Argent charged with five horseshoes Sable on a chief of the second between two lozenges a cresset Sable fired Proper.
Supporters
On the dexter side a unicorn Argent armed and crined Or gorged with a collar pendent therefrom a cross flory Gules and on the sinister side a leopard Proper gorged with a collar Gules pendent therefrom a fleur-de-lys Or.
Motto
Per Laborem Progedimur (We Make Progress Through Hard Work)

## Media

[edit]

In terms of television, the Amber Valley is served by BBC East Midlands and ITV Central broadcasting from the Waltham transmitter.

Radio stations that broadcast to the area are:

* BBC Radio Derby
* Smooth East Midlands
* Capital Midlands
* Greatest Hits Radio Midlands
* Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (formerly Peak FM)
* Amber Sound FM, a community station that broadcasts from its studios in Ripley.

The local newspapers are the Ripley & Heanor News,[18] Belper News[19] and Derbyshire Times.

## See also

[edit]

* List of places in Derbyshire

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – Amber Valley Local Authority (E07000032)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. ^ Lead View Table
3. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
4. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
5. ^ "Bulletin of Changes of Local Authority Status, Names and Areas 1st April 1988–31st March 1989" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
6. ^ "Council minutes, 13 December 2023". Amber Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
7. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
8. ^ Torr, George; Roberts, Georgia (5 May 2023). "Local Elections 2023: Labour big winners across Derbyshire". BBC News. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
9. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
10. ^ "Amber Valley". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
11. ^ "Council minutes". Amber Valley Borough Council. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
12. ^ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
13. ^ Bisknell, Eddie (13 March 2024). "Amber Valley councillor quits Green Party for Conservatives over opposition to solar farm and in-fighting". Derbyshire Live. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
14. ^ "Historic Monument Record: Town Hall, Market Place, Ripley". Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
15. ^ "The Amber Valley (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/810, retrieved 1 June 2023
16. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
17. ^ "East Midlands Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
18. ^ "Ripley & Heanor News". British Papers. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
19. ^ "Belper News". British Papers. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 19 April 2024.

## External links

[edit]

* Amber Valley Borough Council website
* Amber Valley Centre for Voluntary Services
* Amber Valley Info Web Site

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Amber Valley.

* v
* t
* e

Ceremonial county of Derbyshire

Derbyshire Portal

Unitary authorities|

Derby

Boroughs or districts|

* Amber Valley
* Bolsover
* Chesterfield
* Derbyshire Dales
* Erewash
* High Peak
* North East Derbyshire
* South Derbyshire

Major settlements
(cities in italics)|

* Alfreton
* Ashbourne
* Bakewell
* Belper
* Bolsover
* Buxton
* Chapel-en-le-Frith
* Chellaston
* Chesterfield
* Clay Cross
* Darley Dale
* Derby
* Dronfield
* Eckington
* Glossop
* Hadfield
* Heanor
* Ilkeston
* Long Eaton
* Matlock
* Melbourne
* Mickleover
* New Mills
* Ripley
* Sandiacre
* Shirebrook
* Spondon
* Staveley
* Swadlincote
* Whaley Bridge
* Wirksworth
See also: List of civil parishes in Derbyshire

Rivers|

* Alport
* Amber
* Ashop
* Bradford
* Dane
* Derwent
* Doe Lea
* Dove
* Drone
* Erewash
* Etherow
* Goyt
* Hipper
* Kinder
* Lathkill
* Manifold
* Mease
* Noe
* Rother
* Sett
* Trent
* Westend
* Wye

Topics|

* Healthcare
* High Sheriffs
* Museums
* Parliamentary constituencies
* Places
* Population of major settlements
* SSSIs
* Schools
* Country Houses
* Grade I listed buildings
* Grade II* listed buildings

* v
* t
* e

Districts of the East Midlands region of England

Derbyshire|

* Amber Valley
* Bolsover
* Chesterfield
* Derby
* Derbyshire Dales
* Erewash
* High Peak
* North East Derbyshire
* South Derbyshire

Leicestershire|

* Blaby
* Charnwood
* Harborough
* Hinckley and Bosworth
* Leicester
* Melton
* North West Leicestershire
* Oadby and Wigston

Lincolnshire|

* Boston
* East Lindsey
* Lincoln
* North Kesteven
* South Holland
* South Kesteven
* West Lindsey

Nottinghamshire|

* Ashfield
* Bassetlaw
* Broxtowe
* Gedling
* Mansfield
* Newark and Sherwood
* Nottingham
* Rushcliffe

Northamptonshire|

* North Northamptonshire
* West Northamptonshire

Rutland|

Rutland

53°00′N 1°24′W﻿ / ﻿53.00°N 1.40°W﻿ / 53.00; -1.40
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