Work on Swadlincote's new 'Urban Park' expected to be completed before the end of 2022

Work on a new 'urban park' to be built in Swadlincote should start within the next month and be completed by October.

At a South Derbyshire District Council meeting on March 17, the authority's project to build an urban park off Wlliam Nadin Way in Swadlincote was given the final push it needed.

Councillors also debated what the 21-acre development should be named and rejected plans to name it after Queen Elizabeth II or after the Jubilee.

Instead, councillors voted to name the authority's site Cadley Park, in an aim to ensure that the former coal mine's extensive heritage is not forgotten.

Council officers told the meeting that with the final approval of gathering funding for the £1.1 million project, including a new grant of £149,300 from Sport England, the project should be able to start "within a month".

Officials also said the park, between the Avant Homes Cadley Village housing site and the golf course, should be open to the public by October.

The project has been funded by the council, developers and Sport England. Developers have also contributed money for the authority to maintain the park for the foreseeable future.

A move to name the park after Queen Elizabeth II would have required her permission, council officers said, which may have delayed the project.

Meanwhile, a move to name it Cadley Country Park was eventually spiked after councillors were informed that a country park site formed part of the wider Cadley project to the west.

The country park project would be handled and owned by a private company, not the council.

Cllr Robert Pearson said: "We need to honour the Jubilee but maybe not in this instance."

Cllr Kevin Richards, leader of the council, said Newhall Park is already actually called Queen Elizabeth Park, and has had a plaque saying as much since 2013. It bears Queen Elizabeth II protection as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, meaning it is protected by the charity Fields in Trust.

Cllr Neil Tilley, whose relatives worked down the Cadley pit which used to sit on the site, said: "To lose that name, I think, would be a travesty for all those miners who worked down that pit."

Cllr Peter Watson said calling the site Cadley Park may see it confused with a "football park".

Cllr Steve Taylor said: "This proposal in terms of Swadlincote is significant and with all the growth we have had in Swadlincote and the growth of housing, which is coming along quickly, we need this sort of development.

"The growth of this community is one of the most significant in the country and much of that is centred on Swadlincote.

"This will be a real benefit to Swadlincote."

Cllr Trevor Southerd, deputy leader of the council, said: "It is an exciting project, quite frankly, and it has been approved by the planning committee and we felt it was overwhelmingly a good idea."

Cadley Park, approved by the council earlier this month, will include a 1.14km family cycle route, a pump track, and an area where children and new-to-intermediate cyclists – and those on scooters – can hone their skills and learn to ride.

The park forms part of the 200-acre Cadley Park and was formerly known as Cadley Hill Colliery, with all mining ceasing in 1997.

A large master plan has been developed for the wider park which includes hundreds of new homes, two golf courses, a family pub, a country park and a driving range.