As Matlock prepares to host the inaugural Pride in the Peaks, Fiona Stubbs meets the charismatic Ashley Orwin, one of the event’s founders
Morning coffee with Matlock’s deputy mayor is a convivial experience.
Judging by the number of customers who stop by our table in the busy coffee shop for a quick greeting, it appears that most people in the town know Coun Ashley Orwin.
Which is surely fortuitous for local politics – and establishes Ashley as the popular face of the inaugural Pride in the Peaks, which launches in Matlock’s Hall Leys Park on 27th June.
Ashley is buzzing with ideas for the event and is heavily involved in fundraising activities to make it a successful community experience.
He says: “We want it to be inclusive of everybody – a community joining together in love. It will be a family friendly, all-day event with something for everyone to enjoy.
“We’re planning a main stage area for big performers, a DJ set in the band stand, a family area and a cabaret tent.”
“We’re planning a main stage area for big performers, a DJ set in the band stand, a family area and a cabaret tent.”
Ashley joined the town council in May 2024 and a year later was appointed deputy mayor. “I was totally up for the challenge,” he says. “I think it’s good to offer some youthful energy.
“When I joined the town council, one of my suggestions was that Matlock needed to be more colourful – with more flowers and plants etc. My colleagues said that would take money to install and maintain. So, we agreed to meet halfway by introducing colour through flags – including the Union flag, St George’s flag, Derbyshire flag and Pride, to be put up sporadically. There was no political agenda.”
Some controversy over a placing of the Pride flag led to a wider conversation in the town … which ultimately led to the idea for Pride in the Peaks.
Ashley explains: “The lovely thing about Matlock town council is that it’s always trying to generate ideas and develop the community through events.
“It was always in the background that Pride needed to here. But, of course, it would take a lot of budget and planning. After the conversation about flags, this seemed a good way to do something positive.”
A task force was set up to organise and oversee the event. Ashley, his business partner Jamie Hadleigh and Matlock Mayor Coun Marilyn Franks were founding members and enlisted the help of Caroline MacIntosh and Holly Botros of Thrive PR and Events, Sam Smith, co-owner of Matlock’s Deception Escape Rooms and Tom Hendry, Head of Sustainability for Chatsworth and the Devonshire Group.
The task force is engaging with local LGBTQIA+ groups, schools, faith communities, businesses and volunteers with a vision ‘to create a Pride celebration that reflects the heart of Matlock – one that embraces unity, respect, joy and love.’
A diverse range of fundraisers has so far included a Drag Brunch at Chatsworth’s Cavendish Hall, a Hallowe’en event, a burlesque workshop and a Christmas jumper walk in the Peak District.
“The energy is gorgeous,” enthuses Ashley. “It’s all about people feeling safe and having a great time with each other. To me, it’s about people being able to be themselves, whether straight or LGBTQIA+.
“We’re building awareness and trust in the brand. We’ve all got our own qualities which we bring to the task force table.”
Ashley was born in Sheffield and grew up in Chesterfield, before moving to London, aged 15, to pursue a career as a ballet dancer.
He spent 15 years performing in London’s West End and touring internationally with companies including Rambert, Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake and The Royal Opera House.
His screen credits include performing as a Death Eater in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, dancing with Miss Piggy in The Muppets Most Wanted and appearing in the film Anna Karenina, which starred Keira Knightley.
A career pivot into high-end customer service saw him spend three years as a First Class cabin steward with British Airways before co-founding hair and beauty salon Aspire Creative in Matlock in 2020.
“After 15 years in ballet, I knew I was ready to leave my dancing career on a high,” recalls Ashley. “I just missed the green grass of home. All my family are very close and I was ready to come back to the green of Derbyshire.”
He met his Aspire Creative business partner, Jamie Hadleigh, through business development training and networking and together they have developed the award-winning salon on Bank Road. Jamie is the artistic force leading the hairdressing team, while Ashley is front of house and salon manager.
Ashley relishes life in Derbyshire for allowing him to ‘combine creativity, community and activism’.
He says: “The salon is a community. We are all friends – in fact, a lot of clients say they like to come in for the community.
“I love this town. Matlock has done everything for Jamie and me. It’s the home of our business. I love it so much, it’s full of eccentrics in the nicest possible way!
“It’s more than just the town itself. Matlock, to me, encompasses Wirksworth, Tansley etc. It’s the whole of the Derbyshire Dales community. There’s so much to do and there are so many charismatic, creative people in this area.”
His work at the salon is in perfect synergy with his political role – allowing Ashley to understand life at grassroots level and to feed back comments and concerns to council colleagues.
“That connection with the community is really helpful,” he adds. “You hear everything that people are finding pleasant or struggling with. It’s nice to bring that information to the council from the force which is the community.”
Learn more at www.prideinthepeaks.org and @prideinthepeak