High Peak, Derbyshire

Borough of High Peak
—  Non-metropolitan district; Borough  —
Shown within Derbyshire
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Constituent country England
Region East Midlands
Ceremonial county Derbyshire
Founded
Admin. HQ Buxton[1]
Government
 • Type Non-metropolitan district; Borough
 • Body High Peak Borough Council
 • Leadership: Leader: Caitlin Bisknell (L)
 • Executive: Conservative
 • MPs: Andrew Bingham (C)
 • Mayor Cllr David Lomax (Liberal Democrat|LD)
Area
 • Total 208.2 sq mi (539.2 km2)
Area rank 86th
Population (2010 est.)
 • Total 92,600
 • Rank Ranked 247th
 • Density 444.8/sq mi (171.7/km2)
Time zone Greenwich Mean Time (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) British Summer Time (UTC+1)
Postcode S, SK
ISO 3166-2
ONS code 17UH
OS grid reference
NUTS 3
Ethnicity 97.0% White
Website highpeak.gov.uk

High Peak is a non-metropolitan district and borough of the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire, England. Administered from Buxton, it is mostly composed of high moorland plateau in the Dark Peak of the Peak District.

High Peak Hundred was the name of a hundred of the ancient county of Derbyshire covering roughly the same area as the current district. It may have derived its name from the ancient Forest of High Peak a royal hunting reserve, administered by William Peverel, an illegitimate son of William I, who was based at Peak Castle. High Peak is also an alternative name for the Dark Peak.

Contents

Creation

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, by absorbing the municipal boroughs of Buxton and Glossop, the urban districts of New Mills and Whaley Bridge and the rural district of Chapel-en-le-Frith, all of which had previously been in the administrative county of Derbyshire, as well as the rural district of Tintwistle and Woodhead which had been in the administrative county of Cheshire.

Neighbouring local government districts

The borough adjoins the metropolitan boroughs of the City of Sheffield and Barnsley in South Yorkshire, the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, the metropolitan boroughs of Stockport, Tameside and Oldham in Greater Manchester, the district of Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, the unitary district of Cheshire East in Cheshire and the district of Staffordshire Moorlands in Staffordshire.

Main settlements

There are five main areas of settlement in the borough: around Buxton in the south west, around New Mills in the west, around Glossop in the north west, around Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith in the central part of the borough, and the Hope Valley in the east. The northern part of the borough is close to the Manchester urban area. Some of the northern parts of High Peak were considered for inclusion in Greater Manchester. These areas have closer links to Stockport and Manchester than to settlements nearer Derby. Similarly, the villages of the Hope Valley are more closely linked to Sheffield and it has been considered whether these communities should be incorporated into that city.

Settlements in the borough include:

The larger settlements are Glossop, Buxton, New Mills, Chapel-en-le-Frith and Whaley Bridge, which contain most of the services for the borough such as retail, public sector, leisure and entertainment as well as most of the major transport links such as railways and buses.

National Trust

The National Trust is a major landowner in the district, owning extensive tracts of moorland and a number of farms, including some in Edale. Features of the Trust's High Peak Estate include Kinder Scout, Odin Mine and Mam Tor.

References