£35m country park plans set to be submitted

Planning applications for the first phase of a proposed £35 million restoration and transformation of Elvaston Castle Country Park are set to be submitted.

Final touches have been added to proposals to reverse decades of underinvestment and secure the future of the 321-acre Derbyshire estate, which includes the historic Grade II-listed gardens.

It follows a comprehensive public consultation exercise and many months of work by Derbyshire County Council and Elvaston Castle and Garden Trust, working with the National Trust.

The plans include a new café, regenerating the stables for retail, catering, exhibitions and office use, as well as new accommodation and workshops for site staff and volunteers.

Regeneration of the site, which will remain a free at the point of entry country park, is expected to create more than 170 new jobs and increase the number of visitors from its current 240,000 a year.

The money for the project will come from a mix of public and private investment, including bids to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and substantial investment from the county council itself.

Councillor Tony King, the county council’s cabinet member for clean growth and regeneration, said: “If our proposals get the go-ahead, it will signal the start of the first phase of our plans to secure the future of Elvaston Castle Country Park for generations to come by making it a sustainable visitor attraction.”