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.
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