| Borough of Amber Valley | |
| Type: | Non-metropolitan district and borough |
| Blank Emblem Type: | Coat of Arms |
| Mapsize: | 250px |
| Subdivision Type: | Sovereign state |
| Subdivision Name: | United Kingdom |
| Subdivision Type1: | Constituent country |
| Subdivision Name1: | England |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | East Midlands |
| Subdivision Type3: | Ceremonial county |
| Subdivision Name3: | Derbyshire |
| Seat Type: | Admin. HQ |
| Seat: | Ripley |
| Government Type: | Amber Valley Borough Council |
| Leader Title: | Leadership |
| Leader Name: | Leader & Cabinet |
| Leader Title1: | Executive: |
| Leader Title2: | MPs |
| Leader Name2: | Linsey Farnsworth (Lab, Amber Valley) Jonathan Davies (Lab, Mid Derbyshire) John Whitby (Lab, Derbyshire Dales) |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Area Rank: | |
| Population Rank: | Ranked |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Ethnicity (2021) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Ethnic groups |
| Demographics Type2: | Religion (2021) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Religion |
| Timezone: | Greenwich Mean Time |
| Utc Offset: | +0 |
| Timezone Dst: | British Summer Time |
| Utc Offset Dst: | +1 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postcode |
| Postal Code: | DE |
| Blank Name: | ISO 3166-2 |
| Blank1 Name: | ONS code |
| Blank1 Info: | 17UB (ONS) E07000032 (GSS) |
| Blank2 Name: | OS grid reference |
| Blank3 Name: | NUTS 3 |
| Blank4 Name: | Ethnicity |
| Blank4 Info: | 97.8% White 0.9% S.Asian[1] |
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.
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:[2]
The new district was named Amber Valley, after the River Amber.[3] Amber Valley was granted borough status in 1989, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[4]
| Amber Valley Borough Council | |
| Logo Pic: | Amber Valley Borough Council logo.svg |
| Logo Res: | 250px |
| House Type: | Non-metropolitan district council |
| Leader1 Type: | Mayor |
| Leader1: | Paul Lobley |
| Party1: | Labour |
| Election1: | 22 May 2024 |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Chris Emmas-Williams |
| Party2: | Labour |
| Election2: | 24 May 2023 |
| Leader3 Type: | Chief Executive |
| Leader3: | Simon Gladwin |
| Election3: | December 2023[5] |
| Members: | 42 |
| Structure1 Res: | 280 |
| Political Groups1: |
|
| Last Election1: | 4 May 2023 |
| Next Election1: | 6 May 2027 |
| Session Room: | File:Ripley - Town Hall.jpg |
| Meeting Place: | Town Hall, Market Place, Ripley, DE53BT |
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.[6]
Labour won a majority on the council at the 2023 election, taking control from the Conservatives.[7]
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:[8] [9]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1974–1976 | ||
| 1976–1980 | ||
| 1980–1987 | ||
| 1987–1988 | ||
| 1988–1991 | ||
| 1991–2000 | ||
| 2000–2014 | ||
| 2014–2015 | ||
| 2015–2019 | ||
| 2019–2021 | ||
| 2021–2023 | ||
| 2023–present | ||
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:[10]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Cox | pre-2003 | 17 Dec 2007 | ||
| Stuart Bradford | 17 Dec 2007 | 11 Jun 2014 | ||
| Paul Jones | 11 Jun 2014 | 20 May 2015 | ||
| Alan Cox | 20 May 2015 | 8 May 2016 | ||
| Kevin Buttery | 25 May 2016 | 22 May 2019 | ||
| Chris Emmas-Williams | 22 May 2019 | 9 May 2021 | ||
| Kevin Buttery | 19 May 2021 | 24 May 2023 | ||
| Chris Emmas-Williams | 24 May 2023 | |||
Following the 2023 election and changes of allegiance and a by-election up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:[11] [12]
| Party | Councillors | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | |||
| 8 | |||
| 5 | |||
| Belper Independents | 2 | ||
| 1 | |||
| Total | 42 | ||
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.[13]
See 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.[14]
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.[15]
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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) |
| Notes: | Granted 18 October 1989 [16] |
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:
The local newspapers are the Ripley & Heanor News,[17] Belper News[18] and Derbyshire Times.