Olivia Thomas
Round Up of Ripley

Along with several other prominent towns in the Amber Valley District Ripley gets a mention in the Domesday Book, but unlike many of those towns Ripley still retains it outdoor market, a right that was granted to the town in 1251, and there is a thriving market on the market place here every Friday and Saturday. Ripley was also granted permission to hold a fair for 3 days a year, Ripley Fair pre-dates the well-known Goose Fair that is held in Nottingham, and it attracts a lot of visitors each year from the surrounding villages and towns.
Being the seat of the local Borough Council of Amber Valley, with the town hall occupying a commanding site on the Market Place, and being easily accessible for all local inhabitants of the Amber Valley area, Ripley is very much at the centre of things. The headquarters of Derbyshire Police and Derbyshire Fire Service are also situated in the town and being located adjacent to the A38 trunk road Ripley provides easy access to all major roads in the area including the M1, and therefore it’s within easy commuting distance of the major cities of Birmingham, Sheffield, Nottingham, Derby and beyond.
I know that I’ve said this about other towns in the Amber Valley area but Ripley is also only a stone’s throw from the beautiful Peak District National Park and therefore, the residents of Ripley can enjoy of all of what the amazing local countryside in Derbyshire has to offer.
If you’re looking for a town with all of the facilities that a modern town should have, then Ripley has to be the town for you. As one of the very few towns in the Amber Valley District with its own community hospital, Ripley also has a modern leisure centre, numerous parks and green spaces, a thriving High Street, with many independent long standing retailers trading alongside major banks and building societies, local educational facilities catering for all ages, it even has its own reservoir for local fishermen and birdwatchers alike and with its heritage railway, there is an abundance of amenities and social groups on offer for residents here.
Ripley is a town that is definitely in the here and now, building on its industrial heritage when the Butterley Company produced engineering that was the envy of the world, and with the much loved Denby Pottery still being produced nearby, Ripley continues to expand its commercial and industrial base with many new industrial and commercial premises being built on sites around the outskirts of the town, bringing with them, many new employment opportunities.
The residential base of the town provides an eclectic mix of housing styles from cottages, Victorian Semis and Terraces through to modern style town houses and this base is also expanding through the new developments of Church Farm and Deer Park. With all that this town has to offer with regard to its numerous facilities and central location I hope that I’ve sold Ripley to you as a town where you would want to live.