Clay Cross is a town situated towards the south of the district, with the A61 Chesterfield to Derby Road passing through its centre. It has a population of just over 12,000 and a wide catchment to the surrounding area, with the Peak District a few miles to the West and the M1 J29 just 5 miles away to the north-east of the town.
Clay Cross is the largest town in our District, with over 140 businesses trading in the town centre, boasting a variety of independent shops, hair and beauty salons, cafes, and restaurants.
In 1837, George Stevenson arrived to develop the railway line and tunnel. At that time there were just a handful of families living at “The Cross”. Today, Clay Cross is a town which has battled through the decline of the mining industry to become a bustling centre attracting new residents to ensure that it thrives well into the future.
Clay Cross continues to grow with new families enjoying the recently developed Egstow Park; 760 new homes in phase 2 of their development attracting families to the rural nature of the district, its history, and the great road connections of the M1 and A1.
Photo Credit: Derbyshire Economic Partnership
£24m investment in Clay Cross
In November 2021 the UK Government confirmed that Clay Cross had been successful in its bid to the Towns Fund – Part of the UK Government’s Levelling Up priorities with an investment of over £24m.
Further information can be found on the Clay Cross Town Deal Website.
Other projects to revitalise the Town include the redevelopment of a new leisure centre, Clay Cross Active, due to open in the winter of 2024, the Low Carbon Challenge Fund and the preparation of a Strategic Outline Business Case for a proposed train station in Clay Cross.
The development of a former Victorian Sunday School and the creation of 16 new business units will form Baileys Square to complement the already thriving town centre with additional food/beverage and leisure businesses that together will stimulate a new evening economy for Clay Cross.
Artist’s impressions of the new areas are shown below:
As well as new business units Baileys Square will boast a new town square that will host markets and other events throughout the year.
Exploring the District
There is much to explore in and close to Clay Cross, including the Heritage Trail which comprises a 1.5-hour walk around the area’s industrial heritage. The walk starts at the round tower (tunnel ventilator) close to the town’s centre, which you will see emerging from the pavement on Market Street; the tunnel runs 44 metres underground.
Several village communities including Tupton, North Wingfield, and Ashover are within a few miles.
Beautiful views can be seen to the west toward to edge of the peak district and rural countryside is within easy reach.
If you would like to find out about accommodation, places to visit and eat, please click the link and you will be directed to our “Explore the district” pages
Transport and Parking
The Town Centre’s High Street sits on the busy Chesterfield to Derby A61 road. As with all North East Derbyshire Council owned car parks, several free car parks are within easy reach of this main road allowing easy access to the towns shops.
The M1 J29 is to the North East of the town. Following along the A61 south on the way to Derby you pass through the village of Stretton, passing by Morton, Shirland and other neighbouring picturesque villages.
There is a bus station in the centre of the town which provides links to the surrounding villages as well as Chesterfield, Alfreton, Clowne, Mansfield and Bolsover, at various levels of frequency.
Property and Estates
If you are interested in finding out about the business or retail units in Baileys Square and elsewhere in Clay Cross please email the Economic Development Team, in the first instance, who will help you with your enquiry.
Financial support
Grant funding is available for businesses and landlords to improve their street facing commercial properties within the district of North East Derbyshire, especially those within our town centres and on our high streets.
Aimed at making our town centres and high streets more inviting and vibrant places for residents and visitors to enjoy, grants will be available from a minimum of £500 to a maximum of £10,000, a contribution of up to 75% of total project costs.
Shopfront Enhancement Scheme - North East Derbyshire District Council (ne-derbyshire.gov.uk)
Unique to Clay Cross town, developers or enterprises operating from commercial premises (excluding home based businesses) within the Clay Cross Town Deal boundary can apply for grant funding to carry out low carbon initiatives. Up to £10,000 is available per enterprise towards workspace energy efficiency investments and up to £100,000 (or more by exception) for low carbon “high-impact” exemplar projects, defined as either innovative, multiple outcome or achieves elevated performance standards. For more details on eligibility see:
Low Carbon Challenge Fund - Clay Cross Town Deal
These schemes are available for both new and existing businesses and are being greatly received, with positive transformations now being seen across the town centre.
Research
We regularly collate data such as the types of businesses present in our town centres and footfall numbers and visitor trends to each town, to help inform the Council’s plans for future developments and improvements. Further information can be found in Research and Strategies.
Business Networking
If you would like to get involved with local business networking, please get in touch with us.
Clay Cross Parish Council
If you would like to find out what is happening locally within Clay Cross please visit the Parish Council’s website Clay Cross Parish Council
For further information please contact the Economic Development team by emailing