House surveys in Derbyshire

Derbyshire splits neatly in two for surveyors. The east of the county, from Long Eaton and Ilkeston up through Heanor, Ripley, Alfreton, Clay Cross, Chesterfield and Bolsover, sits on the coal measures and is lined with red-brick terraces and former pit villages where coal mining searches are routine. The west and north are Peak District country, with gritstone mill towns such as Glossop and New Mills, limestone villages around Bakewell and Buxton, and handsome market towns like Ashbourne and Matlock. Common issues include mining legacy, damp in solid stone walls, exposure and weathering at altitude, radon in parts of the limestone and gritstone uplands, and flood risk along the Derwent and Trent valleys.