News from producers around Derbyshire

A prestigious art competition run by our Buxton Museum and Art Gallery has announced this year's winners, following a two-year break because of Covid.

Cath Dunn was announced as the winner of the Derbyshire Trophy, recognised as the main competition prize, for her piece Dark and White Peak, above.

There's a chance people in Derbyshire could benefit from the government's £500m Restoring Your Railway programme.

We're urging older and vulnerable residents across Derbyshire to be on their guard against unsolicited phone calls claiming to be from a community alarm company.

Our Trading Standards officers have been made aware of several instances where the caller tries to get a resident to make a payment over the phone, telling them their existing alarm company has gone bust and they’ve taken over the contract.

Did you know we’ve improved more than 80 roads across the county since May?

Our contractors are just finishing this surface dressing work which works to extend the life of roads by spreading a layer of bitumen followed by a layer of chippings, with loose chippings swept away later.

Do you have any primary school children in your family? Tell them about our libraries' Summer Reading Challenge.

The long school summer holidays could mean that your child's reading level 'dips' over the six weeks. The Summer Reading Challenge is designed to stop that.

We would like to get in touch with the relatives of the men who are set to be commemorated with a life-size steel figure as part of the ‘Walking Together’ mining memorial.

The memorial, led by both ourselves and the Markham Vale Heritage Group, will eventually feature 106 life-size steel figures stretching between the village of Duckmanton in Chesterfield and the former pithead.

Each figure is part of a walking trail that symbolises a miner’s journey to the pit and back home again and represents the 106 men who lost their lives in the three accidents at the site.

Derbyshire farm shop Croots has been shortlisted for the third year running in the Great Food Club Awards.

The popular farm shop in Wirksworth Road, Duffield, has been selected as a finalist in the best shop category of the awards.

Food lovers across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire nominated their favourite independent shops, cafés, restaurants, pubs, bakeries, and food and drink producers.

Derbyshire’s specialist child exploitation charity, Safe and Sound, has been awarded £75K over three years to provide mental health support to children and young people across the city and county.

The funding is being provided by the UK Youth Fund – Thriving Minds, a new programme being delivered by leading national youth work charity UK Youth.

Safe and Sound will use the money to expand and embed youth work and positive activities for young people ranging from cultural and sporting activities to outreach and team building.

Engineering world leader Rolls-Royce plc has re-confirmed its commitment to East Midlands’ orchestra Sinfonia Viva which celebrates its 40^th anniversary this year.

Rolls-Royce, which has been a long-time supporter of the Orchestra’s education and community work, has confirmed funding for the next three years.

The company has worked in partnership with Sinfonia Viva for more than 25 years and its financial support has funded a wide range of projects.

Derby College Group (DCG) has been awarded the top accreditation for the fifth time in recognition of its consistent quality in providing careers, employability and enterprise advice and guidance for students at its campuses in Derby, Ilkeston and Morley.

The College was assessed by Career Mark, the licensed awarding body, who considered how students were supported with planning the next stage of their lives – whether that be higher education, apprenticeships, employment or starting their own businesses.