Churnet Valley Masterplan

Why is the Council producing a Masterplan?

The Churnet Valley is a treasured part of the Staffordshire Moorlands which is rich in history and natural beauty.  It is also a living landscape which provides jobs, services and homes for local communities and offers much for visitors to enjoy.  This brings many pressures and demands on the area, as well as providing tremendous opportunities to enhance the overall contribution of the area.

To make sure we realise the potential of the Churnet Valley, whilst at the same time safeguarding what makes it special, the council is leading the preparation of the Churnet Valley Masterplan.  This will be a comprehensive plan for the area which will provide a framework for future development in the Churnet Valley. 

It will identify opportunities and measures to help regenerate and manage this important rural area based around sustainable tourism which is sensitive to and enhances its important heritage, landscape and ecology.

What will the Masterplan do?

The Churnet Valley is proposed in the Local Development Framework (LDF) as a sustainable tourism corridor.  Figure 1 (see documents at the end of this page) identifies the Churnet Valley Tourism Corridor and also nine specific 'projects' which have been identified for further consideration as part of the production of the Masterplan.

We are in the early stages of producing the Masterplan for the Churnet Valley.  Once adopted, the Masterplan will have a major influence on future planning decisions affecting the area and on other initiatives and strategies.

Additional masterplanning work has also been undertaken for the Bolton Copperworks site to help identify potential development options (see Bolton Copperworks section below).

There are strong links between the Masterplan and the Churnet Valley Living Landscape Partnership (CVLLP), a Heritage Lottery Fund Partnership Scheme which seeks to conserve, enhance and celebrate the special historic landscape that fringes the Peak District and runs through the Staffordshire Moorlands.

Options Consultation - January / February 2012

The purpose of this consultation was to seek views and suggestions on the:

• Emerging principles for the Masterplan
• Draft proposed Churnet Valley Masterplan boundary
• Draft vision for the Churnet Valley
• Options for approaches to future development in the Churnet Valley
• Development principles for each of the projects
• Scope for Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) designation

You will be able to view all comments via the council's online LDF consultation portal - please note these are currently being added (April/May 2012).

The full Churnet Valley Masterplan Options Report along with other supporting documentation is available below. 

The Leek Canal Corridor Study and the Uttoxeter Canal Feasibility Study can be viewed on the Caldon & Uttoxeter Canals Trust website

Bolton Copperworks, Froghall

One of the key opportunity sites identified in the Churnet Valley Masterplan, this site has been the subject of a separate masterplanning exercise undertaken by consultants, Taylor Young, in partnership with the District Council and the Homes & Communities Agency and funded through the government's Rural Masterplanning Fund.  A baseline report has been produced which identifies the key issues to be addressed through the Masterplan.  The Bolton Copperworks site forms a part of the consultation on options for the Churnet Valley Masterplan (see documents below).