Councillor Patrick Brady

I am an elected parish representative and a member of the National Park Authority's Planning Committee. I am a parish councillor for Taddington and Priestcliffe and live in the Parish. I am married with three daughters and five grandchildren.

I first moved to the Peak District when I was 4 years old and have always regarded it as home.  My father was an agricultural surveyor and my wife and son-in-law's families work in farming. Professionally I have legal background with a wealth of experience working in local government, working in Yorkshire (in both the Dales and North York Moors National Parks) and Wolverhampton, where I headed the Inner City Regeneration programme which was designed to reverse social, economic and environmental decline in the inner city. I returned to the Peak District as Chief Executive of High Peak Borough Council (1986-2000) where I used a lifelong interest in the built environment to promote regeneration through heritage.

 I consider the area's most important asset to be its people and the communities who have shaped the Peak District into what it is today. I believe more needs to be done to give local people confidence in the Authority, for example by reaching out to involve them in policy-making and through improvements to the planning service, such as those now under way. I particularly want the Authority's commitment to 'vibrant' communities to be matched by policies to achieve this.