Agenda item

Roisin Joyce, Peak District National Park Foundation Director, gave a presentation on the Paths and Trails Appeal. The Foundation is a charity set up in 2019 to raise funds to protect and improve the National Park.  The Foundation can access sources of funding that a Local Authority can’t and can be more donor focussed.

The Paths and Trails Appeal, launched in Autumn 2024, has raised funds from individual and community group donations, as well as corporate contributions. Of the £12,335 raised so far, £4k has gone into access and accessibility work and £4k to repairs and maintenance of the trails.

The Foundation has gone out to existing supporters, and linked in to community events.  It plans to go out to Visitor Centres and Cycle Hire centres shortly, and will introduce a campaign in a few months to seek further support from visitor accommodation providers and outdoor event organisers, as well as Legacy giving.

A major donation of up to £100k over the next 12 months had been received, which could be a multi year commitment, for footpath repair in the Dark Peak. 

Other funded projects include People of the Peak, an accessible garden, a litter picking programme, and working in partnership with a climbing/ mountaineering clothing and equipment manufacturer and the British Mountaineering Council on maintenance work at Stanage Plantation.

The LAF welcomed the update and considered that there was an opportunity for more direct contact with the Foundation to help contribute to how donations are spent.

Action: Roisin Joyce to provide details of the proposed works at Lantern Pike.

Action:  Forum members to pass on any ideas on funded work to Nick Doran, as current Chair, or Sue Smith to raise at a future meeting with the Foundation and PDLAF.

It was noted that any funded projects on the Rights of Way network in Derbyshire should be run past the County Council.

In response to a question raised about placing a levy on accommodation, Roisin responded that this would not be part of the Foundations’s remit.