2026 is a BIG year for Belper and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site. It is the 250th anniversary of the first cotton mill opening in Belper. It will be 300 years since the birth of Jedidiah Strutt, the man who transformed Belper into the world’s first cotton mill town. It is also 25 years since the Derwent Valley Mills were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list!

We’ll be updating this page as plans develop so please keep visiting!

We’d like everyone to get involved to help us celebrate, create, reflect and learn in and around Belper and the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site throughout the year. We’ve already had a public meeting to share ideas around the Strutt’s and their legacy with everything from re-establishing Belper traditions like the donkey parades, horticultural shows or bicycle parades to celebrating Belper through food, music, dance and song. We want to link to the things important to the town, its story and its place in the World Heritage Site from water-power and sustainability, to its landscape, mills, architecture and global links, including to enslaved plantation workers providing the cotton. We’ve got a steering group of people from organisations from across the community to help shape the activities, so now it’s time for next steps!

We’re hoping that it will be a full year of celebration and events throughout 2026. There might be events already planned that could take a theme and link to it, organisations working together, schools, communities and people all pitching in but we know these things don’t come together overnight!

By working together we think we can make Belper 250 in 2026 a fantastic year. All are welcome and we want there to be lots of offer for everyone. So, if an organisation you are involved with would like to get involved in delivering activities or events please complete the Belper 250 Events proposal form (link below) and we will help to coordinate a fascinating and fun Belper 250.

Belper 250 Event Proposal Form