30 YEARS AGO

● The fight was lost to save Ashbourne’s 10 bedroom maternity home from closure. Southern Derbyshire Health Authority decided it would close on December 18 following a vote of nine votes to six in favour of closing it down. Protestors condemned the decision, calling it “disgusting”.

● Councillors and traders feared people living at the top of Derby Road were choosing to shop in the city as huge traffic queues on Derby Hill meant it took longer to drive in to Ashbourne.