Borough of Amber Valley | |
|---|---|
 Ripley, the administrative centre of Amber Valley and the second largest settlement in the borough | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Shown withinDerbyshire | |
| 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 | 265 km2 (102 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 132nd |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 130,451 |
| • Rank | Ranked 186th |
| • Density | 492/km2 (1,270/sq mi) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
|
| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| Postcode | |
| ONS code | 17UB (ONS) E07000032 (GSS) |
| Ethnicity | 97.8% White 0.9% S.Asian[2] |
Amber Valley is alocal government district withborough status in the east ofDerbyshire, England, taking its name from theRiver Amber. Its council is based inRipley. The district covers a semi-rural area lying to the north of the city ofDerby. The district contains four main towns whose economy was based oncoal mining and remains to some extent influenced by engineering, distribution and manufacturing, holding for instance the headquarters and production site ofThorntons confectionery.
TheHouse of Commons constituency ofAmber Valley is of smaller scope.
The village ofCrich and other parts of the district were the setting forITV drama seriesPeak Practice.
The district was formed on 1 April 1974 under theLocal 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]
The new district was named Amber Valley, after theRiver Amber.[4] Amber Valley was granted borough status in 1989, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[5]
Amber Valley Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Simon Gladwin since December 2023[7] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 42 councillors |
Political groups | Administration (22)
Other parties (20)
|
| Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Town Hall, Market Place,Ripley, DE5 3BT | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Amber Valley Borough Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byDerbyshire County Council. Most of the district is also covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[8]
Labour won a majority on the council at the2023 election, taking control from theConservatives.[9]
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:[10][11]
| 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 | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Amber Valley. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Cox[12][13] | Conservative | May 2002 | 17 Dec 2007 | |
| Stuart Bradford[13][14] | Conservative | 17 Dec 2007 | 11 Jun 2014 | |
| Paul Jones[14] | Labour | 11 Jun 2014 | May 2015 | |
| Alan Cox[15][16] | Conservative | 20 May 2015 | May 2016 | |
| Kevin Buttery[17][18] | Conservative | 25 May 2016 | May 2019 | |
| Chris Emmas-Williams[19][20] | Labour | 22 May 2019 | May 2021 | |
| Kevin Buttery[21][22] | Conservative | 19 May 2021 | May 2023 | |
| Chris Emmas-Williams[23] | Labour | 24 May 2023 | ||
Following the2023 election,[24] and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to June 2025, the composition of the council was:[25][26]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 22 | |
| Conservative | 9 | |
| Green | 5 | |
| Amber Valley Independents | 2 | |
| Belper Independents | 2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | |
| Reform UK | 1 | |
| Total | 42 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[26]
The council is based atRipley 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.[27]
Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 42councillors elected from 18wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[28]
There are 35civil parishes in the borough, covering almost the whole area. The exception isRiddings, which is anunparished area, being the only part of the former Alfreton Urban District not to have been subsequently added to a parish.[29]
|
In terms of television, the Amber Valley is served byBBC East Midlands andITV Central broadcasting from theWaltham transmitter.
Radio stations that broadcast to the area are:
The local newspapers are theRipley & Heanor News,[31]Belper News[32] andDerbyshire Times.
