Heatherton Village

Heatherton Village is a residential housing development located at the southern tip of Littelover, Derby, England. It comprises modern housing, several public amenity parks, shops, a school and a nursery. In 2005/6 the area welcomed more construction, with the arrival of blocks of flats, adjacent to Rykneld Road and rumours of "Heatherton 2", behind the church and medical centre have now been confirmed as true. The actual name of the suburb is Littleover and Heatherton Village is located at its southern most boundary approaching the A38 and Findern.

During its development in the 1990s the area was initially referred to as "Hollybrook". This is thought to be a more pleasant deviation on the name of a brook that runs through the area. "Hell Brook" runs near Littleover Community School and through parts of the Heatherton estate.

It is situated off the A5250, three miles south-west of Derby city centre.

The local council housing area; Malham Road, is considered by some as the 'dirty' part of Heatherton. However the majority of the Heatherton development is regarded as a highly sought after location, and is currently, as it has been historically, popular among professional footballers. During Derby County's first stint in the Premiership, Heatherton was home to Fabrizio Ravenelli and today continues to attract contemporary players such as Giles Barnes.

Nearby secondary schools include Littleover Community School, Derby Independent Grammar School for Boys, and Derby Moor Community Sports College.

The closest Primary School is [http://www.griffefield.derby.sch.uk Griffe Field Primary School] (Griffe being derived from the French for 'claw' which, when combined with the name of Hell Brook, gives some credence to the stories that it was a burial ground for plague victims) which is actually within the estate on Grosvenor Drive, built as a part of the initial development by Birch plc (since acquired by Edinburgh-based Miller Homes) but since expanded to double its original size early in the new Millennium. The closest primary school after this is Brookfield Primary School in Mickleover Village.

The small shopping arcade on Hollybrook Way (at the south-western entrance to the estate) houses a Co-operative supermarket, day nursery, hair salon, pharmacy, an Indian restaurant (Basmati formerly Jee Ja Jee's) and most recently a community centre.

Across the road there is also the Haven Church, The Hollybrook (pub) and a Doctor's surgery.

The East Midlands Nuffield Hospital and Spar corner shop are also fairly close by at the base of Havenbaulk Lane. Further up Rykneld road, past the Hollybrook Way entrance is the Littleover Lodge hotel and restaurant.

Heatherton is served by its own circular bus route maintained by Trent Barton bus services known as "The Harlequin", this service was set up during the 1990s due to the increase of population in the area. The service runs on a circle route around the estate and then onto Derby City centre, calling every 15 minutes.

It is currently thought that the estate is going to be expanded further, past its current borders on Moorway Lane. Whether or not this is speculation is still to be investigated, however with plenty of unused field in the surrounding area this may still be a possibility.