Agenda item

Helen Carrington, PDNPA Property Manager, gave a presentation on the PDNPA Trails Management Plan (TMP).  Helen has responsibility for looking after the four multi user trails in the National Park, as well as Authority owned car parks, camp site, toilets and holiday cottage.  The trails infrastructure also includes tunnels, signage, shelters, picnic sites, rubbish bins and electric charging points.

Under the TMP trails are resurfaced on a scheduled basis which is expensive.  Each user group of the trails, which includes walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders, has their own expectation of what sort of surfacing is best.  Trees and undergrowth that grow adjacent to the trails have to be managed, which includes dealing with Ash Die back, where tree failure is a risk to trail users.  There are significant Health and Safety issues around tunnels.  Sections of the trail may be closed for periods of time to allow for maintenance work.  The expenditure on car parks, toilets, campsite, holiday cottage and trails is budgeted to be £977k in 2025/26, but with estimated income from car parking, facilities, concessions, cafes and abseiling licences, £198k will go back into the overall Authority budget.

Summary of discussion

Where parking and toilets are charged for there is a risk that people will look for places where they can park for free and use alternatives, such as roadside verges, and this has an impact on the site.  Charging should be balanced against site impacts.

Since the introduction of Pay & Display machines at a further 13 PDNPA owned car parks surveys have been carried out to monitor any dispersal of vehicles outside parking areas, where is has been shown that there is some dispersal onto the roadside and any free parking areas from some of the charged for sites.  The Authority can’t charge for using the trails, so the income has to come from car parks.  Similarly in making a decision about charging to use toilet facilities, this is assessed on a case by case basis.  At Dovedale we charge the public for using the toilets there as there is no other way of making income to support their maintenance.  The annual parking permit is good value for regular users of our car parks, there are still some free parking, and times when parking is free in our Pay and Display car parks.

The trails are a good resource, but lack of facilities and link routes to the trails can be a barrier to people using them.  The Access Fund has been used to maintain shelters and improve access to the trails, but the link routes are outside Helen’s remit.  Better messaging could be displayed at car parking sites to advise how the money is being used.

Tim Nicholson, PDNPA Transport Policy Planner, outlined the Authority’s view on car park expansion.  Demand is assessed against impact.  There has been a consultation on car park issues as part of the Local Plan review.  Car parks created in open countryside have to balance with National Park purposes.

Car parks are an opportunity to educate about the Countryside Code through the right messaging in the right places, and to set out how the charges are supporting the work of an organisation.  New tariff boards with messaging are planned.

Helen explained the choice of surfacing on the trails.  The Ultra Trek option is hard wearing to last over 10 years and the best long term surface. The surface is dark in colour but does blend in after the first year and allows for the trail to be widened.  It reflects the former use of the trails as a railway line.

Action: Helen to provide a link to the Trail Management Plan