Active Travel England has made a £2.7 million grant to Derbyshire County Council to transform a former railway line into a greenway.

Greenways are traffic-free pathways for walking, wheeling, cycling and horse riding. The grant will fund the transformation of the former Little Eaton branch into a 3½-mile-long greenway between Little Eaton and Rawson Green.

The construction of the greenway will maintain a thriving wildlife corridor and provide a low-carbon transport route throughout the valley.

It is due for completion in spring 2026 and will link communities and places of employment, and provide access to Little Eaton primary school for parents and children by foot, bicycle or scooter.

Little Eaton branch line was built by the Midland Railway in 1855, going north from Little Eaton through Coxbench to Ripley.

The line saw its last train in April 1999, but the track remained until 2011 when it was taken up. Derbyshire County Council took over the disused line from Network Rail in 2014, and its transformation into a greenway will add to the growing network that the council is opening across Derbyshire.

Active Travel England is a government body tasked with encouraging people to walk, wheel, or cycle as their preferred choice for travelling around their communities.

Transport for Wales is encouraging Active Travel by introducing trains modified to carry ten bicycles and e-bikes, and in Scotland, the new Levenmouth branch line incorporates an Active Travel bridge.

“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.”

Councillor Carolyn Renwick ,Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment