A popular Derbyshire tourist attraction could be set for a significant car park expansion, with the filming of a major movie paving the way for a raft of other improvements.
Plans to improve Calke Abbey’s existing 218-space overflow car park, dubbed “unusable” from November to March, and to extend it by a further 271 spaces were submitted and shelved last year.
However, the Ticknall site’s car parking expansion is now back on the table, following extensive conservation efforts elsewhere on the historic National Trust estate.
These improvements have been made possible by the filming of the Netflix film ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’, which was produced at the Derbyshire site in winter 2024.
This includes scenes with Peaky Blinders frontman, Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who led the hit BBC TV series focusing on Birmingham’s infamous Shelby family, set in the early to mid-1900s.
The National Trust says scenes for the movie, to be released in March, were captured in passageways and corridors, the kitchen, schoolroom, night nursery and other rooms normally used as collection stores.
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Filming also took place in the stableyards, at Middle Lodge and in the surrounding parkland.
In response to a comment on a Facebook post about the issue of car parking, a National Trust spokesperson wrote: “Money raised through filming has already helped us carry out essential conservation work in the House and across the estate.
“We know that car parking is a significant issue and something that we’re committed to resolving, but this is subject to a planning application which has recently been submitted.”
Plans from the National Trust to improve Calke Abbey’s overflow car park and expand it were submitted last August and validated in September, but were withdrawn by the organisation in late November.
As of this article’s publication, there is no live application for the Calke Abbey car park expansion with South Derbyshire District Council.
A National Trust spokesperson said: “Income generated from filming at Calke Abbey, including ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’, supports conservation and access improvements across the estate.
“Filming took place in 2024 and is not connected to proposals relating to car parking. We do not disclose commercially sensitive financial details relating to filming agreements.
“An application was submitted last autumn for improvements to parking at both the main site and Calke Explore.
“Consent has been granted for Calke Explore. The main car park application was withdrawn to allow further assessment and to respond to feedback from the planning authority.
“A revised application has now been submitted and is with the local authority for validation before appearing on the planning portal.
“Any changes to parking at Calke must be carefully designed to respect the historic landscape and environmental significance of the estate.”
While the spokesperson said the organisation does not disclose film location fees, the National Trust’s annual accounts for the 2024–2025 financial year – the year in which the Peaky Blinders filming took place at Calke – say: “Our film and locations businesses generated £3.1 million, with locations such as Great Chalfield Manor, Horton Court and Montacute House featured in Wolf Hall, Season 2.”
The withdrawn application detailed that, despite improvements, the overflow car park was “unusable from November to March, with the plastic grid system now breaking up, with potholes appearing in the gravel tracks from wear and tear”.
It aimed to tarmac over 218 of the overflow car parking spaces, with an additional area for a further 271 spaces, with gravel and grass to be used to mark out the roads and bays. Plastic mesh would also help maintain the ground’s stability.
Hedges, trees and other scrub plants would be planted around the boundary to help shield it from view, following concerns from the district council about the setting of the historic listed building and estate.
An existing mound built around the overflow car park would be extended and increased in height.
Historic England had said the application risked impacting the listed property, primarily its landscape, and negatively affecting its heritage value, as well as potential archaeological remains.
Car park expansion, as well as plans last year for a major catering boost, barbecue stand and ice cream kiosk, follows an increase in annual visitor numbers to half a million, up from 312,000 in 2015, and heading towards 600,000 by 2030.
