A well-known free festival on the outskirts of Derby has been cancelled due to concerns and complaints following ‘unsuitable’ parking at a previous event. Shardlow Inland Port Festival has been a hit with South Derbyshire locals ever since its innaugural event four years ago – but organisers shared the “upsetting” news that it may not return.
The festival celebrates canal life and the area’s wealth of heritage and takes place every September, allowing visitors to follow the Trent and Mersey towpath, meet members of the narrowboat community and immerse themselves in canal and boat history-related activities. It invites countless businesses to set up stalls around the village and offers a wide range of vendors, whether its a free valuation from BBC Bargain Hunt’s Irita Marriott or a dog show at a pub in the village.
Shardlow Inland Port Steering Group (SIPSG) is the community group that has organised the last four events. The group says it has worked closely with community partners and sponsors to provide a free family event and says making provision for the safety of pedestrians is “key” to the continuation of the event.
Speaking on the decision to cancel the 2025 edition of the festival, a spokesperson for SIPSG said: “Key to the continuation of the Festival is being able to provide for the safety of pedestrians, adequate car parking facilities for visitors, and ensuring safe access to homes for those who live in the village.
“Unfortunately we have had to make the difficult decision to cancel Shardlow Inland Port Festival 2025 due to uncertainties surrounding the field car park and complaints sent to South Derbyshire District Council relating to car parking and residents’ access.
“The difficulties in being able to provide a safe environment and parking were brought into sharp focus this year because visitors elected to park in unsuitable areas rather than use the field car park where we asked for a donation of £5 which was not mandatory. Despite the best intentions of our traffic management company to close Wilne Lane and The Wharf to visiting cars in order to provide safe access to residents, they felt they were unable to do this due to complaints received by the council.”
Supporters of the festival were quick to share their thoughts on social media, with Vee Jay commenting: “It’s such a shame that it could be the end of the festival. Thinking of all the small businesses, floating or otherwise that this will affect, the local public houses, the caravan park, B&B’s, cafes, crafters, the list is endless.
“Then of course there’s the hundreds and hundreds of visitors who are also going to be disappointed. So much hard work goes into organising something like this too. Very very sad.”
Kate Somerset remarked: “This is such a shame to hear, this event has an amazing atmosphere and I would think that the local businesses would have done extremely well out of the weekend. Hopefully this can be resolved,” with Anne Leal adding: “This is very sad about the festival not going ahead this year. So disappointed. It’s a great community event with people coming from far and wide to attend.”
Shardlow developed greatly upon the opening of the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1770. Goods were transported from wide boats to narrow boats where canals acted as a highway for tradespeople of the time. The decline of the canal business brought different uses for the warehouses, but the area remains remarkably unchanged.
One of the key attractions to the festival in recent years has been the ‘floating market’, with canal boats selling wares in the area and featuring an array of stalls including coffee vendors, arts and crafts, street food and cheese stalls. You can read more about the festival by clicking the link here.