The contractor carrying out works as part of the UK Government funded Ashbourne Reborn programme will pause all work in the town centre to ensure the historic Royal Shrovetide football game can go ahead as usual. The annual tradition takes place on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday, which fall on the 4th and 5th March in 2025.
Although work started on the south section of Dig Street and Buxton Hill in early February, Derbyshire Dales District Council, Programme lead, and Derbyshire County Council, who are leading the Ashbourne Reborn Highways and Public Realm project, have been clear from the outset that work should not interrupt the Shrovetide game. The contractor is due to close down the site on Friday 28 February, starting back up on Monday 10 March.
The game can be played throughout the town, including key areas of the Ashbourne Reborn scheme such as Shrovetide Walk, which connects Shawcroft and Dig Street, along with the areas surrounding St John Street, Millennium Square and the Market Place.
Work to deliver the Ashbourne Reborn programme will be carried out throughout this year. During the works, Ashbourne remains open for business. Residents and visitors are encouraged to use the town centre as they normally would. Although there will be additional measures such as traffic lights and temporary road closures, any diversions will be clearly signposted and pedestrian access to businesses will be maintained.
The £15.9m transformation scheme aims to bring back vibrancy, vitality and economic prosperity to Ashbourne town centre, with £13.4m UK government funding and the rest raised locally by project partners. Works to the road network on Dig Street, St John Street, Church Street, Station Road and Buxton Road will help transform the pedestrian experience in Ashbourne, making people feel safer and reducing the dominance of traffic and its impact on the town. The project will also see improvements to public spaces at the Market Place, Victoria Square, Millennium Square and Shrovetide Walk. A second major project, led by Ashbourne Methodist Church will develop The Link Centre, a new community hub providing a range of services to residents, businesses and visitors across Ashbourne.
The programme is led by Derbyshire Dales District Council working with Derbyshire County Council and Ashbourne Methodist Church as key delivery partners, in collaboration with Ashbourne Town Team, Ashbourne Town Council and AshCom who brought forward project ideas, identified opportunities and raised match funding for the bid. The photo above was supplied by Ashbourne Historical Centre who are currently displaying a unique collection of Shrovetide memorabilia at the Town Hall, which you can visit for free.
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