CONTACT YOUR POLITICIAN:

Your District Councillor | Your County Councillor | Your Member of Parliament | Your Members of the European Parliament

Find out the names of your local District Councillor, County Councillor, Member of Parliament or Members of the European Parliament, and their contact details.
Just enter your postcode for instant answers at writetothem.com

HOW DID YOUR MP VOTE ON MORAL ISSUES?

Where ever you live, you can find out how you MP voted on specific issues. However, as of this latest update (April 2011) there is some doubt as to whether some of these online services will be able to continue funding themselves. Use them while you have the opportunity!

Search for the voting record of the MP for your constituency:

DERBYSHIRE DALES, MATLOCK: How your MP, Patrick McLoughlin, voted (Conservative)

DERBY SOUTH: How your MP,Margaret Beckett, voted (Labour)

DERBY NORTH: How your MP, Chris Williamson, voted (Labour)

ENVIRONMENT

RECYCLING

Recycling in Matlock
Lots of information about recycling, composting etc. Enter your postcode to view a map showing convenient recycling locations.

WATER

THE DERWENT RIVER

The Derwent runs through Matlock - and sometimes over it! You can see the flood marker by the bridge in the Hall Lees Park. (more about flooding below)

The Derbyshire Peak Fringe and Lower Derwent (from around Chesterfield to the Amber Valley / Duffield) is classified as a 'Natural Area', although in the past mill owners dammed many of the small fast-flowing brooks running into Chesterfield (from the Eastern Moors of the Dark Peak), to generate their own water power, and to make small reservoirs. In these river and reservoir habitats, and some swampy patches, great crested newts, migrating waders and breeding and wintering wildfowl flourish, often feeding on the luxuriant pondweed.

The Derwent runs through a steep gorge between Matlock and Cromford, then widens once it reaches the shales, grit and sandstone towards Derby. The white-clawed crayfish is struggling for survival in the Derwent.

PEAK DISTRICT RIVERS

We have some wonderful rivers.

The Lathkill

The Lathkill is one of the purest rivers in England! Like many White Peak rivers, which flow over the highly porous limestone, The Lathkill is usually deep in winter, but prone to disappearing down 'swallow holes' in summer. Lathkill Head Cave is a wonderful sight in full winter flood, and the Lathkill River is a prime site for Dippers . . .

Other beautiful rivers nearby in the Peak District include the famous Dove, beloved of Isaac Walton and his friend Charles Cotton (whose book "The Compleat Angler" celebrates their days fishing in Dovedale) and the lesser known River Bradford, River Manifold and River Wye.

The Cromford Canal, flowing past Arkwright's Mill, is a very popular venue, with various visitor attractions. Carsington Reservoir, near Ashbourne, is our nearest reservoir, and there are fishing lakes in the area.

CRAYFISH IN PEAK DISTRICT RIVERS

Please avoid standing or walking in Peak District rivers! It may seem like a strange request, but Crayfish plague has already virtually wiped out most of the best crayfish sites in the Peak District, and your boots (or your dog's fur) might be carrying the Crayfish plague.

HEALTHY RIVERS?

Is your local river healthy?
Enter your postcode or town on the form provided to check the health of the Derwent - or any other river.

Flood risk in the Midlands
General information.

Council Information about Flooding

Am I at risk of Flooding?
Enter your postcode on this page to find out. Also a Flood Map showing the flood risk in your area.

FLOODS IN MATLOCK

Interesting local history of floods in Matlock

MORE ABOUT WATER...

Interesting links ...
Water - it's amazing . . .

CAVES & SSSIs

Natural England provides a downloadable leaflet showing all the SSSI's in the White Peak, including the caves - all near to Matlock.
White Peak SSSIs, including Caves with Map and information

Caving in the Peak District

Caving is only allowed for members of the National Caving Association and allied clubs.
Climbing is not allowed in Lathkill Dale.

The Derbyshire Caving Association has plenty to go at around Matlock - our limestone landscape is riddled with caves - and sometimes mine-shafts too, so keep an eye on your children, and on where you put your own feet!

If you find yourself in a cave - for whatever reason - please don't dig! This strange request is because many of the caves are SSSIs. They are part of the 400 km of English cave passages (across 40 sites) now been designated as SSSIs. Digging in caves or mines could inadvertently damage rare plants, cover up important geological exposures, or disturb sediments which need to be left intact to reveal their valuable information on cave formation or archaeology.

Keep updated with Peak District Caving News w

AIR

Check the quality of the air!
www.airquality.co.uk

Air Quality in the East Midlands

National Pollen Research Unit

LANDSCAPE & WILDLIFE

The Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve
The Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve (NNR) - a part of the Peak District National Park - refers to Lathkill Dale and four related river valleys in the White Peak: Cressbrook Dale, Monk's Dale, Long Dale and Hay Dale. Matlock lies at the southwestern corner of this NNR.

This NNR has some of the best examples of wildlife and geology in the White Peak. The flower-rich, nutrient-poor, limestone grasslands are prized habitats - 40 different species may be growing in one single square metre of this grassland. Most of them are tough, low-growing and sometimes fragrant plants, like common rock rose, salad burnet, wild thyme, fairy flax, milkwort and mouse-ear hawkweed. More rare are Nottingham catchfly, Jacob's ladder and spring cinquefoil. In spring, the early purple orchids and cowslips are just wonderful!

There are also patches of unimproved neutral and marshy grassland, which attract grey partridges and brown argus and green hairstreak butterflies.

Our ever popular 'Dippers' - the chocolate-brown and white birds which you are likely to see bobbing up and down on a stone in the river - have, unfortunately, been disturbed during breeding by photography and other disturbances at a couple of sites in recent years. Dippers are songbirds - the only songbird that can swim and dive!
Natural England has provided a free downloadable leaflet 'Dipper Nesting Sites: Advice for Photographers' to help protect them.

This area is also rich in fossils.
Also see: Fossils and Fossil Hunting in Derbyshire

The main walking trails in The Derbyshire Dales National Nature Reserve are the Limestone Way and Monsal Trail. Sections of the National Cycle Network also serve the area. The reserve consists of five separate limestone valleys Lathkill, Cressbrook, Monk's, Long and Hay.
The Derbyshire Dales (NNR) is managed by English Nature's Peak District & Derbyshire Team.

English Nature: Peak District & Derbyshire Team

Derbyshire Biodiversity

A Living Landscape: Action Plans for The Peak District.

Geology of the Peak

Foundations of the Peak

Plants & Geology of the Peak
A unique interactive guide to the natural and man-made landscape of the Derbyshire Peak District, from the British Geological Survey.

Geological Map of the Peak District National Park.

Recent Earthquakes