Alfreton, Derbyshire, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Alfreton is a town and civil parish in the Amber Valley district of Derbyshire, England. The town was formerly a Norman Manor and later an Urban District. The villages of Ironville, Riddings, Somercotes and Swanwick were historically part of the Manor and Urban District.

Alfreton is near the border with Nottinghamshire near the towns of Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Mansfield. The towns of Clay Cross and Ripley are also nearby. And the larger town of Chesterfield is directly north.

Economy The main industry of Alfreton was historically coal mining but after the mines closed in the 1960s it changed to light industry, warehousing, retailing, and the service sector. A substantial proportion of local jobs are in health, education, and leisure. A significant but declining proportion of the area is still agricultural. Alfreton town centre features a number of national chain stores, along with independent businesses and charity shops, but it is dominated by a large branch of Tesco. There are several banks, building societies, estate agents, and other services. There is an indoor market, library, two post offices, a job centre, and numerous pubs and food outlets. There is a health centre, a leisure centre, swimming pool and park at the west end of the town, and a golf course outside the town to the west.

The chocolate company Thorntons and safety footwear manufacturer Rock Fall are based in Alfreton.

Transport The area has a heavily used and extensive road network, in particular the arterial A61 and A38, the latter linking to the nearby junction 28 of the M1 motorway. The town grew as a centre for bus transport throughout the 20th century and still has extensive bus services. Alfreton's railway station, sited north-east of the town, was originally closed in 1967 as part of the Beeching Axe, but in 1973 a station was opened on the same site named Alfreton and Mansfield Parkway, as the nearby town of Mansfield did not have its own station at this time. When Mansfield regained its own station as part of the Robin Hood Line reopenings in the 1990s, the station's name reverted to Alfreton. From May 2021, the station lost all direct services to and from London, though a campaign to have some reinstated has the support of the Town Council. An hourly service also runs to Liverpool and Norwich, and between Leeds and Nottingham.