Is there (or has there been) flooding in Derby?

[beaglesaresweet]

I especially mean the Strutts park conservation area at the lower end of Darley park, there are streets right next to the river Derwent. I'm worried but otoh for all the flooding everywhere, no one mentioned Derbyshire on the news (and I'm far away so can't just look).
Has there been in the past?
Possibly it's hilly straight away next to river?

[elmirador104]

No we haven't had any flooding this winter, although the rivers are very high. Is there a particular street you are looking at, as there aren't that many houses near the river and even then they are quite a way away.

[olaybiscuitbarrel]

Check the flood zone maps on the environment agency website.

[Cretaceous]

I lived there forty years ago before it was a conservation area... as a very young child, obviously My mum showed me a plaque in the centre of Derby to mark the height of the floods years before we lived there, and it was above my (three-year-old!) head. However, the river didn't flood near us, but in the centre. I think they've put in flood defences since, as well.

[MrsJohnDeere]

No

[beaglesaresweet]

elmirador, for example Otter St. (amusing and apt name - do otters come into your garden ). Quite a few parallel streets to the river there.

Thanks all for replying - good news, but I wonder why doesn't it flood when everywhere else seems to flood now! Is it better defences or the river is very shallow/gentle?

[elmirador104]

No problem, here is a link for you:

www.ourcityourriver.co.uk/downloads/OurCityOurRiverMasterplan2013.pdf

It does seem that our council have taken flooding seriously and have an action plan in place.

We have had a lot of rain recently but nothing on the scale of the deluge down south, so we have been very lucky as well.

[clary]

The river is a looong way down the hill from Otter Street.

There has been a collapse of one back garden tho, I assume a landslip.

[beaglesaresweet]

thank you, emirador, well done to Derby council - didn't expect them to be more efficient than in the expensive Berks. Are they good at other things - like collecting rubbish often? Can I pm you with more questions about Derby as it sounds like you are a long term local, and very friendly?

thank you clary - it looks right next to it on the map with a little patch of lawn. Maybe it's deceptive, but good if he hill is bigger than I thought. I wouldn't look at the houses with gardens actually backing towards river and nothingj inbetween, but saw a house on the opposite side of street. Hopefully landslips couldn't happen if pavement around? Are landslips common there - a bit worrying?

[birthdaypanic]

No floods apart from few years have lived in Derby all my life can't remember any floods, are you moving here? Not a bad place to live.

[beaglesaresweet]

I'm doing some viewings soon and then will decide on it, birthday. Wanted to have a better look at the centre, so if you can recommend the nicer streets to look at - some aer pedestrian so can't see on google - let me know! Great to hear a positive comment, I had a thread on it before on MN but got somewhat negative responses about the area. Tell me more about the good side if you have time!
How is the central area for safety btw (I mean south-west of the centre, around Burton rd, I think)?

[birthdaypanic]

I live near Burton Road nice area good schools. Burton Rd is actually incredibly long the best part is the Littleover end. This part of Burton Rd is a small shopping area known locally as the village, the surrounding residential streets all nice can't think of a bad part. As I said I have lived in this area most of my life - that sounds quite sad - but have actually moved around a bit including living abroad but came back to same area/street which says a lot about how good I think it is.

[beaglesaresweet]

it's not sad at all, birthday! if you know the place where you feel good and settled, that's lucky, as so many people can't find that one comfortable place! will have a look at the map - thanks for that info.
I love the look of the big parks/green spaces in the area.
What about nice streets in the centre near Cathedral - do you like any?

[elmirador104]

Hi, yes I've lived here all my life and had some good friends who lived near Otter St. You are welcome to pm me for more info.

If you let me know your budget and what you are looking for, eg schools, shops etc then I will see if I can make any suggestions. As with all areas there are good and bad parts, so it's good to have a helping hand.

[mynameisnotmichaelcaine]

I LOVE Otter Street. Plan to move there once our kids have finished school, not fair to move them from their village primary at the mo.

[aloysiusflyte]

I lived in Derby for many years, if we could have afforded it at the time we'd have loved to have lived in the strutts park area, definatly one of the nicest areas.

I used to live near the city centre on the uttoxeter New road side, have to say when visiting the area again recently I was shocked at how run down it all is, I never really noticed at the time.

Compared to where I live now, Derby didn't seem to have much going on culturally, theatres were so so, lack of festivals/events and a lack of history. When I was there, the council always seemed to be cutting/closing things down but I guess that's the same anywhere.

[clary]

The Darley park (bit bigger than a bit of a lawn lol) hill down to the river is a prime spot for sledging when there is snow, so I think the likelihood of it flooding the houses at the top is v remote.

Don't know about the landslip, I presume it is weather related but not sure if it is a common occurrence; it's the only one I recall in 15 yrs of living and walking around here.

[clary]

Otter Street/Arthur Street etc very nice and handy for town (walk into the city) but really hard to park your car if that matters to you.

Also a bit of a way from the catchment secondary (about 2 miles) but lots of kids bike or bus it.

[beaglesaresweet]

thanks everyone, elmirador - will pm, but as it 's so late, just a quick question /poll:
out of these three areas, which are the safest/less rundown/no large number of drunks around /supermarket not far - Otter st area, area east of Burton rd but not as far as Littleover, and near Markeaton park near the top of Ashbourne rd roundabout.
The last one is obv close to university, but I think students would mainly rent on the side of Uni rather than the other side of Ashbourne. On google the street looks more residential than obviously rented properties, but a risk still.
I will respond to all posts later with more q's!

[Cretaceous]

Have you ruled out Littleover then? Good for schools??
Agree with Clary re parking issue. Belper Rd easier for parking, but think it's more expensive?

[clary]

Top of Ashbourne Road is nearest to supermarket (depends which one you want).

None is very far (10 mins) from a supermarket in a car. Otter Street is a reasonable walk to a Sainsbury's in town but it's not enormous.

All of those areas I would say could potentially have issues with drunks etc as they are all close to town. Otter Street area is quite smart and expensive so not rundown but from friends who live there I gather there are some issues with being so close to the city. Ashbourne Road is cheaper and more student; Burton Road is probably cheaper still. It depends what you want doesn't it! The further out you go, the more residential it gets and so fewer issues with potential anti-social behaviour but further to town (ie not walking distance). Schools by and large better in the suburbs. City centre has lovely housing stock, often beautiful Victorian homes if that's your bag.

[littleredsquirrel]

Some flooding around the villages though. Sawley has lots of flooded fields.

[beaglesaresweet]

clary, you've got it in one - beautiful Victorian houses ARE my bag, in fact I'm salivating over what you can get for a price of a flat where I live (nice city but even further from London). That pretty much is my priority - nice house but also I need to use the station a lot, so suburbs not ideal - I also think there aer no shops in suburbs, and having lived in London and another city, it's nice to be able to walk to the centre. But Otter and top of Ashbourne are attractive places to me as I like big parks and being easy distance from tem. That's a minus re Burton rd. clary, when you say it's even cheaper - is it worse than the student area, and why? streets don't look rundown but not right by the park I suppose and maybe more build-up/narrower streets/no immediate shops?
Having said that, I think buses are good, so I could consider Darley Abbey, as it's also near Keddleston which I like.
Cretaceous, I wouldn't rule out Littleover, but on rightmove it's all 30s houses (in my budget) - not really my thing, even though it does look leafy and nice, also I think no direct buses to station?
clary you ar funny re sledging and 'a bit of lawn' . What do you think of Markeaton park? I can afford a terrace in that aera, I think they aer all terraces really there.

[beaglesaresweet]

aloysius, I wouldn't agree there is no history in/around Derby. Yes, nothing compares to London culturally (well maybe Oxford/Camb to some extent, in england) - other towns/cities may have a theatre but it's all very limited. Take Bath, supposed to be cultural, but because the best theatre is small and they have short runs, it's almost impossible to get a ticket for something good. Maybe I'm not a big theatre goer anyway, so I'm only really interested in the best of theatre. Again with music/concerts, what compares to london (unless you mean open air festivals which again is not for me - I don';t like roughing it ).
Derby has a proud industrial history (trains) and thankfully has just won a grant tokeep the train co running. It produce fantastic porcelain, of course - I study History of art so to me it's has a good museum already - plus the AMAZING Keddleston Hall nearby, they have talks and events and have interiors by one of the best architects ever.
Yes I'd probably still live in london (nice aera' if I could afford a decent size place. Lots of areas I could still buy something aer rough in london - or it's very dull suburbs. So Derby being on a small scale doesn't put me of, as I may feel that a nice house justifies the lack of cultural events, I'd be still going to london anyway. Otoh, 'nice' more expensive places can be as lacking in activities but more crowded and much less friendly. I don;t like Surrey as it can be hugely snooty or small-minded, yet you could afford a postage stamp there. I find people extreenely friendly in Derby, though I haen't been there much at all. It is a bit of shockto move from the South where I've always been, but I'm really considering. Houses I see online are lovely inside, just shows people have good taste there! Sorry so long - just need to write my thoughts down as it's a big potential move. No one needs to read if boring .

I am somehow still concerned a bit about safety - especially house safety as I'm away sometimes. Should I worry?

Schools not an issue for me, my niece will live with me when she's in Uni later this yr.

[beaglesaresweet]

squirrel - I think anywhere with the open fields flooded now to some degree.

[beaglesaresweet]

sorry for typos, esp in the longest post!