Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a beautiful county in the East Midlands of England. The county is home to many different towns and villages to explore, including Sheffield, Chesterfield and Derby. It’s also home to some great universities, such as Chesterfield College and Derby University.

Check out our guide for prospective home buyers on how to find your dream house in Derbyshire!

4.40
Average Location Score

Excellent

56%

Very Good

31%

Average

10%

Disappointing

2%

Very Poor

1%

Best places to live in Derbyshire

HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area

Chatsworth Bridge

Where is Derbyshire?

Derbyshire is located in the East Midlands of England, bordering Nottinghamshire and South Yorkshire. The county has a population of over one million people and covers an area of just over two thousand square kilometres.

Areas in Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a large county, spanning both the Peak District and the Midlands. The main population centres are in the north of the county around Derby and Chesterfield, and in the south around Matlock and Buxton.

There are also several smaller towns scattered throughout Derbyshire.

The Peak District National Park is situated in the northwest of Derbyshire and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in England. Other areas of interest include:

Chesterfield – A historic market town in the north of the county, Chesterfield is home to a large outdoor market and an annual Chesterfield Music Festival. It is also known for its Crooked Spire, a church tower that leans sharply to the north.

Derbyshire Dales – A picturesque area of rolling hills and limestone caves in the south of Derbyshire. The Derbyshire Dales are popular with hikers and mountain bikers.

The twisted spire in Chesterfield

Bolsover – A small town boasting the Bolsover Castle, which is one of the most popular castles in England for visitors who want a taste of history.

Derby – A city and metropolitan borough in the east of Derbyshire, Derby is known for its links to the silk industry and is home to Derby County Football Club.

Dovedale – located in the Peak District, this area is known for its dramatic landscapes and limestone cliffs.

Matlock – A town situated in the Derbyshire Dales, Matlock is a popular destination for tourists who want to enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling.

Matlock Bath – a picturesque village located on the banks of the River Derwent, Matlock Bath is well known for its Georgian architecture.

Chesterfield – The largest town in the county, Chesterfield is predominantly a commuter suburb of Sheffield and has plenty to offer visitors including an impressive Market Hall and Theatre Royal.

Universities in Derbyshire

Derbyshire is home to a number of universities, including

Chesterfield College – A large independent college with a focus on business, engineering and technology, Chesterfield College has a range of courses on offer at both graduate and undergraduate levels.

Peaks district in Derbyshire

Derbyshire College – An independent college that is part of the BU Group, Derbyshire College delivers vocational training in many areas including business, catering and hairdressing to name but a few.

University of Derby – The University of Derby has over 20,000 students enrolled across its campuses located across Derbyshire and Staffordshire and offers courses in sports science, childcare studies and dentistry among others. 

Top Schools in Derbyshire

Derbyshire is home to an excellent selection of primary and secondary schools, including:

Brookfield School – An independent school for boys and girls aged from three to sixteen years old, located just outside Chesterfield, the Brookfield School is a co-educational day school.

Derby Grammar School – Derby Grammar was founded in 1994 but its roots go back to the early sixteenth century. The school is an academy for boys aged eleven to eighteen and occupies a twenty-acre site in Littleover near Derby city centre

King’s School – An independent day school for girls aged three to sixteen years old located on Uttoxeter Road in Derby, the King’s School is rated as outstanding by Ofstead.

Population of Derbyshire

Currently, there are approximately 700,000 people living in all areas that make up the county with a population density averaging 200 people per square kilometre.

 

Reviews in Derbyshire

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OK but not great.

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Dec 2023

The estate itself is OK with houses set nicely apart and off the road that runs through the layout. The accident waiting to happen on the corner where Elizabeth house is, is a concern with drivers having to take to pavements to void oncoming traffic. The road is always caked in thick mud from the Atkinson build and diggers drive fast on the roads.

Please review your development:

Customer care on the build is terrible. We still hae outstanding snags from our home demo day, but after so much hassle, we can barely be bothered to chase. Our house, the osbourne has walls that are paper thin and literally we can hear our neighbour hoovering, talking and running up the stairs which sounds of thunder. It’s really horrendous and has made me feel really depressed that I’ve spent this much money. If I had known the sound proofing issues before, I wouldn’t have bought. We will put our house up for sale as soon as we are able to do so.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

How bad the sound proofing is. I can hear everything our neighbours do.

What is the best feature of your home:

The large bedroom on the top floor with a nice spacious en suite

3
Facilities
4
Design
4
Location
3
Value
2
Management
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Nightmare Experience

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Nov 2023

The access to local shops is fine, only a short walk or drive to the nearest stores or supermarkets, our house luckily is far enough away from the main road that you don’t hear the traffic, however I wouldn’t like to live close to the front of the development as the main road is very busy.

Please review your development:

The house is mostly well designed although our driveway is tiny and squashed right up against our neighbours house so to actually park and get out of my car I have to walk onto my neighbours property.
We have experienced many snags on our property and have found dealing with Avant to get these sorted very stressful and tiresome, the Avant Customer Services Team seem to try their best not to help you and to try and make you give up, they at first would send very infrequent emails to give updates on issues, however since we’ve moved into the property the email updates have virtually stopped, I now have to constantly ring them to try and get any form of answers as to when the snags will be looked at and rectified.
The team are very poor at at getting back to you regarding these issues, on multiple occasions I have been told ill get a call back and they have never once called me again, it’s on me once again to call and chase them.
The staff are very passive aggressive on the telephone and on one occasion when one of the staff members thought she had put me on hold, I heard her swearing about having to speak to me, completely unprofessional.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The company are terrible to deal with, luckily most of the issues with our house have been minor, but I dread to think if we had something seriously wrong with the house, how long it would take for Avant to resolve the issue

What is the best feature of your home:

The open plan living space in the living room/dining area

2
Facilities
2
Design
3
Location
3
Value
1
Management
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Well designed, but more parking could have been included

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Oct 2023

Easy access to Chesterfield, the M1 and beyond. There is a large supermarket a couple of villages over as there are no real ‘proper shops’ in walking distance (closest is a 6 minute drive to the Coop) however there is one planned for this development will be fantastic. We still have the open fields around us, easy access to the 5 Pits Trail and the Peaks. Very little traffic noise at all, just the odd siren from the main road.

Please review your development:

The development has been designed well, with properties along and then off of Feld Lane, easily accessible for those living on Cherry Drive. It will be even better when the small shops are built, along with the pub which has been seen on the plans. One issue is the Elizabeth House facility opposite properties as parking here is extremely, extremely tight with people double parking on the bend and road. More parking for Elizabeth House could have easily have been included in the plans as it is dangerous and there have already been some near misses. Looking forward to when street lights on Cherry Drive are completed due to there having been large holes dug- and then abandoned- for around 4 weeks as it is very very dark around here at night. There could have been more environmentally friendly methods used in these houses, solar panels etc.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Just know that getting anything will be slow, tedious and you end up trying to sort things yourselves as waiting for Lovell to do it takes an eternity.

What is the best feature of your home:

We love our garden, it is large with a gentle slope running away from the house (more sloped than we were told in the meetings we had) however with having landscaped it ourselves it will be great next summer!

3
Facilities
4
Design
5
Location
4
Value
3
Management
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Manager Response

Thank you for your 4* review on your new home at Stephenson Grange.

We apologise for the slow response in rectifying snags, your comments & feedback has been taken on board to be shared with the wider team on how we can improve in the future.

Thank you again.

Not bad but could be better

Verified Resident
Verified Resident
Review Date Oct 2023

Lots of cars parked on the road on the development itself, suggests poor planning. No bars or restaurants nearby but good links to motorway and dual carriageway. Plenty of shops nearby. Plenty of buses. Lots of littering, encouraged by the site not cleaning up after themselves. The area itself isn’t bad but has a reputation as not being a desirable place to live. We do have a nice view over the valley.

Please review your development:

Often very slow to respond to issues. Poor communication between site team and customer care team and also with contractors. Good design in terms of houses and gardens not overlooking each other, however there is a problem at one end of the development with lots of parking on the road so you can’t see round the corner. Poor grounds keeping, lots of areas are just overgrown with weeds. They mow the weeds every few weeks but no attempts to grass. House is very well designed in general with good layout but en suite is poorly designed with wasted space and badly positioned fittings.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The plumbers they use are cowboys. Use a professional snagging company to find where the plumbers have cut corners, and find a decent plumber yourself.

What is the best feature of your home:

The general layout is great. The home feels light and airy and is sensibly laid out.

3
Facilities
4
Design
5
Location
3
Value
2
Management
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Manager Response

Thank you for your review on your new home at Stephenson Grange.

Your feedback and comments have been taken on board to be shared with the wider team on how we can improve in the future.

Thank you again.