Agenda item

The Chair reported that former Member Cllr Judith Twigg was recovering from her recent illness during a visit to Australia and it was understood she would be able to return to the UK soon.  Members wished her well for her recovery.

It was noted that a number of present Members were retiring at the end of their current appointments.  Cllr Tony Favell and Cllr Lesley Roberts, both former Chairs of the Authority, were standing down at the Parish Member elections in June.  Although Cllr Favell was not present, the Chair, on behalf of Members, thanked both him and Cllr Mrs. Roberts for their contribution and hard work.

The Chair also thanked Cllr Caroline Howe and Cllr Jamie Macrae who had both indicated that they were not standing again in the Council elections in May, much appreciating the contribution they had made during their time at the Authority

In addition Mrs Penny Anderson had indicated that she would not be continuing as a Member after her 4 year Secretary of State appointment came to an end in March.  The Chair also thanked her stating that she would be missed particularly with regard to her contributions to biodiversity and climate change.  There will now be 3 Secretary of State Member vacancies which Defra will be working to recruit to over the coming months.

The Chair highlighted the following events since the last Authority meeting:

·         Derby and Derbyshire Joint Committee for Economic Prosperity, D2 Meeting, for Derbyshire Leaders - the Chair had been invited to attend this by Cllr Lewis of Derbyshire County Council and had found the meeting useful and very positive. 

·         Data from the Ordnance Survey’s app and online service had recently found the busiest parts of the country for hikers and had identified that Edale was the most popular place to start a walk in England.

·         VisitEngland Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award – this prestigious award had been presented to England’s National Parks on 11 March.  Details of the Experience Collection had been reported to Members at the last Authority meeting.  The Chief Executive, Sarah Fowler, together with representatives of other National Parks and the Discover England’s National Parks Team, were unaware they had won until they attended the Award ceremony in London on Monday evening.  The Chief Executive stated that the award was a testament to work across the National Park family to promote sustainable tourism throughout National Parks and to the most recent work to develop the English National Parks Experience Collection across 9 National Parks.

·         Peak District National Park Foundation – registration of the Charity was now complete.  Mr Z Hamid, Cllr C McLaren and Cllr A McCloy were the Authority’s Member representatives on the Charity which was also comprised of four appointed trustees whom it was hoped would be able attend a future Authority meeting.  The first campaign for the Charity had been announced as 70 for 70 which aimed to raise £70,000 for the 70^th anniversary of the 1949 National Parks Act.  As part of this fundraising Lorna Fisher, the Authority’s Engagement Manager, will be cycling 1600 miles between all 15 UK National Parks in just two weeks.  The Chair thanked Officers for their work in setting up the Charity.

The Chair had recently attended the following meetings and events:

·         Meeting with the Leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Rachel Bailey, this had been a most productive meeting.  A meeting had also been arranged with the Leader of Kirklees Council.

·         The re-signing of the Derbyshire Armed Forces Covenant.