A concrete dam was built in the 1970s to replace a demolished Mill. That dam (or weir) represented the last remaining barrier between the ocean and historic salmon spawning headwaters of the River Ecclesbourne.

It was a spawning migration route that, prior to the weir being built, had been in operation since the last ice age over 10,000 years ago.

Fish surveys revealed juvenile salmon below the weir (proving that adults still entered the Ecclesbourne and tried to migrate upstream). However, no salmon have been found in modern surveys carried out upstream of the weir.

After advice was sought from the Wild Trout Trust in 2018, a group was formed to try to find a solution to this barrier and the project was born.

Members included Duffield Parish Council, The Grayling Society, Derbyshire Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency.

As well as reconnecting over 17 miles of historic (and high quality) spawning habitat, this project opted to avoid a standard "fish ladder" or technical fish pass solution. Instead, new high quality habitat was created as a replacement for the weir which not only provides a new home for a range of river corridor species but also greatly improves fish passage both up AND downstream for a wide range of fish species.

Following completion of the project in October 2022, a spawnedout carcass of a hen salmon was discovered in January 2023 half a mile upstream of the dam removal project site.

This project follows along with the philosophy that Trout Unlimited summarises so well with the Protect, Reconnect & Restore approach.