Cromford Mills heritage group lands huge grant for hydroelectric power plan

The Arkwright Society will receive £199,093 from the community fund run by water company Severn Trent, which will be put towards ambition plans to create a new visitor experience, reinstate a waterwheel and install a turbine to generate renewable energy for the site.

Simon Gill, the society’s operations director, said: “This is a fantastic project to return waterpower to the mill that created the first factory system at the start of the Industrial Revolution.

“As part of our drive to transform Cromford Mills into a more sustainable and greener site, we hope this will spark interest in sustainable energy sources and inspire people at other heritage sites to play a part in shaping the future of our world.”

As previously reported, the hydroelectric power plan will be supported by the Derbyshire Dales Community Energy hub, recently established with funding from Derbyshire County Council.

Simon added: “We are also looking forward to connecting the project with Cromford village and working with the local community.”

Severn Trent intends to give away £10million between 2020 and 2025, supporting new projects by charities and community groups across the region.

In the latest round, £16,400 was also allocated for refurbishments of the domestic abuse refuge run by Chesterfield’s ELM Foundation.

Sue Heyes, from the community fund team, said: “It is fantastic that we are able to support truly outstanding community-focused projects such as these.

“It is important that we are able to give something back and our awards panel was unanimous in ensuring that funding would be secured for these two very different but very important projects.”

She added: “We are always keen to hear from groups or organisations that are seeking funding for projects that can make a real, tangible difference to their communities and we recommend that they get in touch to see if they can benefit from a share of the community fund.”

For more information on the fund and how to apply, see https://bit.ly/3zz0kxb.

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