It then resumes its easterly course through woodland known as Cat Hole, is crossed by Hungerhill Lane, flows over a weir adjacent to Hunger Hill Pumping Station and turns to the north-east to reach the eastern edge of the village of Holymoorside.

It is now hemmed in on both sides by suburbs of Chesterfield, and supplies a large lake called Walton Dam.

A restoration programme was completed in 2005, financed by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and formally opened by Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex.

It continued to be used for this purpose until the 1880s, but the owner then built an extension to the house, and removed the water wheel and machinery.

He built 19 cottages for mill workers in 1844, and ceased to rely on water power after 1861, when he installed steam engines.

They used the water for the production of cotton wool at Walton Works, and the pond was also used by their employees for leisure activities, including swimming.

The Hipper Valley Trail cycle route runs through the park, and the dam provides habitat for wildlife, including a large population of mandarin ducks who spend the winter months there.

A new "fireproof" structure, consisting of a cast iron frame supporting brick arches was erected in 1800/1801.

However, the main output was always cotton wool, and continued to be so until 2002, when the business was sold and production moved to Carlton in Lindrick, near Worksop.

The site was scheduled to be redeveloped as housing in 2007,[17] but lay derelict for another ten years until planning permission for the Walton Mill development was granted in 2017.

[22] To the east of New Brampton Colliery, there were two mill ponds to the south of the river, but it is not clear if these were part of Walton Chemical Works.

[23] The final site was just before the modern A617 bridge, where a tannery and Hipper Works, which processed leather and glue were located on the north bank of the river.

There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates, angiosperms (flowering plants) and fish.

Like many rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE), perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS), and mercury compounds, none of which had previously been included in the assessment.

A survey by the Wild Trout Trust in 2016 on behalf of Chesterfield Borough Council found that the Hipper where it runs through Somersall Park had been impounded by a number of weirs and that its channel had been straightened.

The impoundements prevent geneflow between populations of fish in the different pools created[27] while the straightening of the channel reduces the variety of habitats available to wildlife.

The debris also provides some protection for fish against predators, and helps to prevent them from being washed downstream during flood events.