Temporary footbridge - Walter's Walkway

Walter’s Walkway was installed by the Council in 2022 to provide access between the Mills and Darley Abbey village.

In September 2023, the Council’s Cabinet agreed to purchase Walter’s Walkway, securing the link in the medium term.

In 2025 however, the walkway was closed for safety reasons following changes in river flow and significant erosion of the riverbank.  

In June 2026, contractors started work to remove Walter’s Walkway and place it in storage, before demolishing the old, unsafe bridge. Demolition of the original bridge will mean we can do the works to stabilise the riverbanks before we can safely reinstall Walter’s Walkway.

Surveys have been completed to understand changes within the river and designs are underway for works needed to stabilise the riverbanks. We plan to reinstall Walter’s Walkway by February 2027, subject to approval of planning applications.

Our current approach focuses on:

• making the riverbank and surrounding area safe through stabilisation works
• protecting and conserving the World Heritage Site and its historic assets
• planning for the reinstatement of safe public access when it is structurally possible to do so

We are continuing to develop the plans for a new bridge that will restore permanent access for active travel users and emergency services. Development of this project to detailed design and a full business case will take several years.

Information on the permanent bridge, including the strategic outline business case, is available on our New Darley Abbey Mills Bridge page.