High Peak

Infobox UK district
name = Borough of High Peak


status = Non-metropolitan district; Borough(1974)
region = East Midlands
admincounty = Derbyshire
area = Ranked 92nd
540.25 km²
adminhq = Chapel-en-le-Frith
onscode = 17UH
population = Ranked English district rank|ONS=17UH
English district population|ONS=17UH
English district density|ONS=17UH / km²
ethnicity = 97.0% White
= 1.0% S. Asian
politics = High Peak Borough Council
http://www.highpeak.gov.uk/
leadership = Leader: Cllr Tony Ashton (C)
& Cabinet
executive = English district control|ONS=17UH
mayor = Cllr Robin Baldry (C)
mp = Tom Levitt (L)
year = 2005

High Peak is a Non-metropolitan district and borough of the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire, England. Administered from Chapel-en-le-Frith, it is mostly composed of high moorland plateau in the Dark Peak of the Peak District.

High Peak Hundred was the name of a hundred of the ancient county of Derbyshire covering roughly the same area as the current district. It may have derived its name from the ancient Forest of High Peak a royal hunting reserve, administered by William Peverel, an illegitimate son of William I, who was based at Peak Castle. High Peak is also an alternative name for the Dark Peak.

Creation

The borough was formed on April 1, 1974, by absorbing the municipal boroughs of Buxton and Glossop, the urban districts of New Mills and Whaley Bridge and the rural district of Chapel-en-le-Frith, all of which had previously been in the administrative county of Derbyshire, as well as the rural district of Tintwistle which had been in the administrative county of Cheshire.

Neighbouring local government districts

The borough adjoins the metropolitan boroughs of the City of Sheffield and Barnsley in South Yorkshire, the metropolitan borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, the metropolitan boroughs of Stockport, Tameside and Oldham in Greater Manchester, the district of Derbyshire Dales in Derbyshire, and the counties of Cheshire and Staffordshire.

Main Settlements

There are five main areas of settlement in the borough: around Buxton in the south west, around New Mills in the west, around Glossop in the north west, around Whaley Bridge and Chapel-en-le-Frith in the central part of the borough, and the Hope Valley in the east. The northern part of the borough is close to the Manchester urban area. Some of the northern parts of High Peak were considered for inclusion in Greater Manchester. These areas have closer links to Stockport and Manchester than the settlements nearer Derby. Similarly, the villages of the Hope Valley are more closely linked to Sheffield and it has been considered whether these communities should be incorporated into that city.

Settlements in the borough include:
* Ashopton
* Bamford, Buxton, Buxworth
* Castleton, Chapel-en-le-Frith, Charlesworth, Chinley, Crowden
* Derwent, Dove Holes
* Edale
* Fernilee, Furness Vale
* Gamesley, Glossop
* Hadfield, Hayfield, Hope, Horwich End
* New Mills
* Peak Forest
* Rowarth
* Sparrowpit
* Taxal, Tintwistle, Thornhill
* Whaley Bridge

The larger settlements are Glossop, Buxton, Chapel-en-le-Frith and Whaley Bridge, which contain most of the services for the borough such as retail, public sector, leisure and entertainment as well as most of the major transport links such as railways and buses.

National Trust

The National Trust is a major landowner in the district, owning extensive tracts of moorland and a number of farms, including some in Edale. Features of the Trust's High Peak Estate include Kinder Scout, Odin Mine and Mam Tor.