High Peak, Derbyshire

This article is about the borough. For the constituency, see High Peak (UK Parliament constituency). For the uplands, see Dark Peak.

High Peak is a local government district with borough status in Derbyshire, England, covering a high moorland plateau in the Dark Peak area of the Peak District National Park. The district stretches from Holme Moss in the north to Sterndale Moor in the south, and from Hague Bar in the west to Bamford in the east. The population of the borough taken at the 2011 Census was 90,892. The borough is unusual in having two administrative centres for its council, High Peak Borough Council; the offices are in Buxton and Glossop. Other towns include Chapel-en-le-Frith, Hadfield, New Mills and Whaley Bridge.

Borough of High Peak
Non-metropolitan district; Borough
Buxton, one of the two administrative centres of High Peak (with Glossop) and the second largest settlement in the borough
Coat of Arms
Shown within Derbyshire and England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Ceremonial county	Derbyshire
Admin. HQ	Buxton and Glossop
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district; Borough
• Body	High Peak Borough Council
• Leadership:	Cllr Anthony McKeown (L)
• Executive:	Labour
• MPs:	Jon Pearce (L)
• Mayor	Cllr Stewart Gardner (L)
Area
• Total	208 sq mi (539 km2)
• Rank	73rd
Population  (2022)
• Total	91,109
• Rank	Ranked 262nd
• Density	440/sq mi (170/km2)
Ethnicity (2021)
• Ethnic groups	List 97.4% White 1.3% Mixed 0.8% Asian 0.3% other 0.2% Black
Religion (2021)
• Religion	List 51.5% Christianity 47.1% no religion 1.1% other 0.3% Islam
Time zone	UTC 0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 1 (British Summer Time)
Postcode	S, SK
ONS code	17UH
GSS code	E07000037
Website	highpeak.gov.uk

Glossop, the second administrative centre of High Peak and the largest settlement in the borough

High Peak 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, a favourite of William I, who was based at Peak Castle. High Peak contains much of the Peak District National Park. The district contains the highest point in Derbyshire, Kinder Scout, which stands at 636m (2,087 ft) above sea level. Its settlements act as commuter centres for people who work in the surrounding counties and other parts of Derbyshire, owing to its proximity to Cheshire, Greater Manchester, South Yorkshire, Staffordshire and West Yorkshire.

Creation

The borough was formed on 1 April 1974, covering the area of six former districts, which were abolished:

• Buxton Municipal Borough
• Chapel-en-le-Frith Rural District
• Glossop Municipal Borough
• New Mills Urban District
• Tintwistle Rural District (which had been in the administrative county of Cheshire)
• Whaley Bridge Urban District

Neighbouring districts

The borough adjoins the metropolitan boroughs of Sheffield and Barnsley in South Yorkshire, Kirklees in West Yorkshire, the districts of Derbyshire Dales, Cheshire East and Staffordshire Moorlands, and the Stockport, Tameside and Oldham metropolitan boroughs in Greater Manchester. The Metropolitan Borough of Oldham is only bordered by high moorland near Black Hill and is not accessible by road.

Main settlements

Map of High Peak

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.

Settlements in the borough include:

• Ashopton
• Bamford
• Brough and Shatton
• Buxton
• Buxworth
• Castleton
• Chapel-en-le-Frith
• Charlesworth
• Chinley
• Chisworth
• Crowden
• Derwent
• Dove Holes
• Edale
• Fernilee
• Furness Vale
• Gamesley
• Glossop
• Hadfield
• Hayfield
• Hope
• Horwich End
• New Mills
• Old Glossop
• Padfield
• Peak Forest
• Peak Dale
• Rowarth
• Sparrowpit
• Taxal
• Tintwistle
• Thornhill
• Whaley Bridge
• Woodhead

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.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of High Peak.

Individuals

• John Pritchard: 15 November 2022.

Military Units

• The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment: 1974.
• The Mercian Regiment: 18 December 2007.
• The Royal British Legion (6 local branches): 7 November 2018.

Media

In terms of television, the area is served by BBC North West and ITV Granada broadcasting from the Winter Hill transmitter. Some eastern parts of the High Peak such as Hope Valley are served by BBC Yorkshire and ITV Yorkshire broadcasting from the Emley Moor transmitter.

Radio stations for the area are:

• BBC Radio Manchester on 95.1 FM (covering Glossop, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Hadfield, New Mills and Whaley Bridge).
• BBC Radio Derby on 96.0 FM (covering Buxton) and 95.3 FM (for Hope Valley).
• Greatest Hits Radio Derbyshire (High Peak) on 103.3 FM, 106.4 FM, and 106.6 FM.

Local newspapers are the Buxton Advertiser, Peak Advertiser and Glossop Chronicle.

See also

• High Peak Borough Council elections