Presenting to the wider public

We recently held an informal presentation on our activities over the past couple of years, plans for the future, and the exciting inclusion of our Shrovetide Walk project in Ashbourne’s successful Levelling Up Fund bid to an invited audience.

See below for more details. 

Shrovetide Walk

We updated those who attended about the Shrovetide Walk Project, and some of the background. In 2020 Derbyshire Dales County Council allocated funds from their capital programme to resurface Shrovetide Walk. AshCom felt there was an opportunity to partner with DDDC and bring forward a landscape project complete with resin footpaths, town crest large dominating structural figures and seasonal planting that would pay tribute to the history of our game and become a focal point for locals and visitors alike. AshCom consulted with local stakeholders and engaged with Architects after gaining sponsorship to cover costs. In December 2020 planning permission was granted. Shrovetide Walk is now included in the £15m Ashbourne Reborn regeneration programme, under the Government’s Levelling Up Fund. (More details can be found here: Ashbourne Reborn - Derbyshire Dales District Council

Henmore Project

We are leading a project to deliver a new walking and cycling path from one side of town at Waterside Park to the other side at Ashbourne Park, helping to make it easier for walkers and cyclists to travel along the Henmore Brook, close to nature and away from the busy roads. At the same time the project is also aiming to help protect wildlife and to encourage more species such as water voles and salmon to thrive in the long stretches of the river. Working with partners including Derbyshire Dales District Council and major environmental agencies, the CIC is developing plans that will transform the corridor and help people understand nature and value the river wildlife in a much more holistic way. 

Vocational Training

As part of the grassroots of how AshCom started, and following extensive engagement with Ashbourne Community, one area that the Neighbourhood Plan identified was a necessity to address education delivery within the Town. The feedback received covered all age groups and included the requirement to give all young people the opportunity to develop their own unique futures. To this end, the proposal was to give pupils, from the age of 14+, the opportunity to pursue their own personal life choices through learning linked to vocational training. The development of a Vocational Training Centre was supported by Parents and Employers in all areas of the consultation process. Consequently, AshCom wishes to put this back on the table for discussion of what this might look like in practice.