Temporary footbridge - Walter's Walkway

Walters Walkway was installed by the Council in 2022 to reconnect the Mills with Darley Village. This was done to maintain access, despite the Council not owning the original structure.

In September 2023 the Council Cabinet agreed to purchase Walter’s Walkway to secure the link for the medium term, however in 2025 the walkway was closed due to unforeseen circumstances and significant erosion of the riverbank. Engineers have confirmed that it cannot be safely reopened through minor or short-term repairs.

The intention is to reopen Walter’s Walkway once the old bridge has been demolished and the area made safe. 

This will be subject to securing the necessary funding and approvals, the current estimated timescales for reopening is approximately 12 months.

We are continuing to explore options for a new permanent bridge, but this will take several years. A Strategic Outline Business Case has been published, detailing the preferred options for this.

We will review these pages annually but will update them if there is important news to share.