The Sanctuary covers an area of ten acres of land close to the Derby County Football Stadium and the River Derwent. Once this area was a gasworks tip, and therefore the land had been contaminated in many ways and can only be viewed from access points and not freely roamed by visitors. However, it has been protected by the local authority for some time and has been left to lay fallow and has developed into an area of natural conservation, teaming with animals and plant life.