# Amber Valley

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.

## History

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:
* Alfreton Urban District
* Belper Rural District
* Belper Urban District
* Heanor Urban District
* Ripley Urban District
The new district was named Amber Valley, after the River Amber. Amber Valley was granted borough status in 1989, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

## Governance

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.

### Political control

Labour won a majority on the council at the 2023 election, taking control from the Conservatives.
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:
| Party in control | Years |
| Labour | 1974–1976 |
| No overall control | 1976–1980 |
| Labour | 1980–1987 |
| No overall control | 1987–1988 |
| Conservative | 1988–1991 |
| Labour | 1991–2000 |
| Conservative | 2000–2014 |
| Labour | 2014–2015 |
| Conservative | 2015–2019 |
| Labour | 2019–2021 |
| Conservative | 2021–2023 |
| Labour | 2023–present |

### Leadership

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:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Alan Cox | Conservative | pre-2003 | 17 Dec 2007 |
| Stuart Bradford | Conservative | 17 Dec 2007 | 11 Jun 2014 |
| Paul Jones | Labour | 11 Jun 2014 | 20 May 2015 |
| Alan Cox | Conservative | 20 May 2015 | 8 May 2016 |
| Kevin Buttery | Conservative | 25 May 2016 | 22 May 2019 |
| Chris Emmas-Williams | Labour | 22 May 2019 | 9 May 2021 |
| Kevin Buttery | Conservative | 19 May 2021 | 24 May 2023 |
| Chris Emmas-Williams | Labour | 24 May 2023 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election and changes of allegiance and a by-election up to May 2024, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Labour | 26 |
| | Conservative | 8 |
| | Green | 5 |
| | Belper Independents | 2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 1 |
| Total | Total | 42 |
The next election is due in 2027.

### Premises

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.

## 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.

## Towns of Amber Valley

* Alfreton
* Belper
* Heanor
* Ripley

## Main villages of Amber Valley

* Ambergate
* Codnor
* Crich
* Denby
* Duffield
* Heage
* Holbrook
* Horsley
* Horsley Woodhouse
* Kedleston
* Kilburn
* Langley Mill
* Lea & Holloway
* Mackworth
* Milford
* Quarndon
* Riddings
* Smalley
* Somercotes
* Swanwick
* Whatstandwell

## Parishes

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.
* Aldercar and Langley Mill
* Alderwasley
* Alfreton
* Ashleyhay
* Belper
* Codnor
* Crich
* Denby
* Dethick, Lea and Holloway
* Duffield
* Hazelwood
* Heanor and Loscoe
* Holbrook
* Horsley
* Horsley Woodhouse
* Idridgehay and Alton
* Ironville
* Kedleston
* Kilburn
* Kirk Langley
* Mackworth
* Mapperley
* Pentrich
* Quarndon
* Ravensdale Park
* Ripley
* Shipley
* Shottle and Postern
* Smalley
* Somercotes
* South Wingfield
* Swanwick
* Turnditch
* Weston Underwood
* Windley

## Arms

Coat of arms of Amber Valley :
* NotesGranted 18 October 1989
* CrestOn 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.
* EscutcheonVert 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.
* SupportersOn 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.
* MottoPer Laborem Progedimur (We Make Progress Through Hard Work)

## Media

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:
* BBC Radio Derby
* Smooth East Midlands
* Capital Midlands
* Greatest Hits Radio Midlands
* Greatest Hits Radio Yorkshire (formerly Peak FM)
* Amber Sound FM, a community station that broadcasts from its studios in Ripley.
The local newspapers are the Ripley & Heanor News, Belper News and Derbyshire Times.