Many thanks for the following information from Lynn Burrows, the Peak District National Park Ranger for our area:
The Peak District National Park Authority’s Area Team in the Parwich, Ballidon and Alsop en le Dale area
The Peak District National Park Authority’s Ranger Service provides a crucial link between the authority and the local community – relaying information, complaints and compliments. We also carry out much of the work on the ground in local communities for the National Park Authority.
The Peak District National Park Authority has two main jobs:
- To take care of the landscape, wildlife and culture of the Peak District so that it will be here for future generations to enjoy
- And to provide opportunities for people to understand and enjoy this fabulous and inspiring landscape.
This is supported by a third aim which is to help sustain the communities that live within the Peak District.
As rangers this means that we are involved in a wide variety of activities and in the recent past I have carried out the following type of work in your area:
Conserving the landscape, wildlife and culture of the Peak District
Working with conservation volunteers
We work with conservation volunteers to directly help conserve the landscape and wildlife. Recently Duke of Edinburgh Award students and conservation volunteers helped restore a dewpond at Parwich for a local farmer. This will provide a home for the critically endangered Great Crested Newt. Keep a look out and you will soon see other ponds being restored.
Working with the local community
A few years ago we ran flower and grass identification courses for local peoplewho wanted to be involved in monitoring the flower rich road verges of the Peak District. A few people from Parwich were involved in this project and surveyed the lane to Biggin.
Monitoring Special Places
Rangers also monitor Scheduled Ancient Monuments (England’s most important archaeological and historic features.) They include burial cairns from prehistory, farms of Romano British people (Britons who lived in the Peak District when the Romans controlled the land almost 2 millennia ago), or the remains of a disappearing lead mining landscape. These monuments are easily damaged by weather, erosion and sometimes burrowing animals. We make sure that farmers know these monuments are on their land and so are able to look after them.
Providing opportunities for people to understand and enjoy the landscape
Education
I visit local schools at Parwich, Biggin and Winster and work with the children to help them understand and care for their local environment. At Parwich we recently explored the importance of woodlands, at Winster we investigated the history of the local lead mining community and at Biggin we considered the importance of the National Nature Reserve of Biggin Dale and erected bat boxes to help an endangered species.
Footpath Work
Although we are not the Highways Authority we do carry out work on some footpaths in the National Park. This is for several reasons:
We want to make it easy for visitors and local people to use the footpaths, by installing gates and waymarking, but we also do this because it can help the farmers. Walkers going astray, knocking down walls or leaving gates open can cause a nuisance – so good waymarkingand easy–to-use gates encourage people to stay on the right path. So in the recent past we installed steps on a very dangerous path across Parwich Hill, and cleared the route south of Parwich towards Sitterlow farm. We’ve also installed waymarking and new gates at Biggin and Parwich.
Access Land and creating new access
We’ve also tried to open up new areas of land for the public to enjoy – for example, we helped farmers when their land was designated as “Open Access” under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act (what people normally think of as “right to roam” land). By making sure that land was well signed we were ableto help people follow useful routes and cross walls at stiles and gateways rather than wandering aimlessly across the land and climbing fences. In addition we introduced additional routes across Peak District National Park Authority owned “access” land at Roystone Rocks. We work closely with the authority’s farm advisors and recently helped a local farmer to create a new route up to Minninglow so that people can now walk up to this fabulous ancient monument and viewpoint.
Guided Walks
Every year the Ranger Service provides over 200 free guided walks exploring the whole of the Peak District. In the coming year we have several walks in the area exploring the High Peak Trail, Minninglow, RoystoneGrange and Mill Dale.
Sustainable communities
Rangers don’t build affordable housing, help set up local shops or keep the village school open, but we do try to help community members overcome some of the problems that result from living in a National Park.
For example, we are presently trying to monitor vehicleuse of routes that the National Park Authority considers to be unsustainable, such as GallowlowLane in a long-term project to improve the management of such routes.
And as I said earlier we help farmers with their stiles and waymarking so that they don’t suffer from trespass and accidental damage to walls, etc from visitors. We also pass on concerns and complaints (and compliments!) to the relevant staff based at the National Park offices in Bakewell.
So, if you have any concerns, issues or questions and aren’t sure who to talk to at the National Park, I’ll try and direct you to the right department or person. Or perhaps you would like to take part in a conservation activity in your area or want to find out about guided walks. You are welcome to contact me: you might just see a ranger about – it will probably be me so please stop me and talk.
Or you can give me a call on 01298 84992 or e-mail me at lynn.burrow@peakdistrict.gov.uk
The Peak District National Park Authority Community Development Team: Village Officers, Adele Metcalfe and Dan Yates, work with communities in the Peak District to help residents take more control in how their villages are managed.
This can lead to:
- highlighting the issues that are important to your community
- developing programmes of improvements
- finding funding to carry out projects
- identifying places of interest and unique features
- managing the impact of tourism
- encouraging participation in community activity
- developing working partnerships with the National Park Authority and other authorities and agencies
- identifying the right organisation to help you
Community Planning covers a range of techniques, one or more of which may be suitable for your village, and looks to learn from good practice already in use in other communities.
If you need more information contact:
Adele Metcalfe
Tel: 01629 816375
email: adele.metcalfe@peakdistrict.gov.uk
Dan Yates
Tel: 01629 816258
email: daniel.yates@peakdistrict.gov.uk
Steven Farren, Senior Trails Warden and David Watts, Trails Wardens
Steven Farren and David Watts are the Estate Wardens responsible for the day to day management of the High Peak and Tissington Trails. They undertake much of the physical work on the trail and organise contractors to carry out work such as resurfacing.
Steve and Dave liaise with farmers and landowners along the trails about boundary and rights of way issues
You can contact Steven by
Mobile Phone: 07850 303584
e-mail: steven.farren@peakdistrict.gov.uk
Other useful contacts:
The authority’s customer service team on 01629 816200 or email customer.service@peakdistrict.gov.uk
PARWICH.ORG 
It is good to have this overview of the work of the Peak Park Authority in our area. It is easy for those of us living in villages to focus on the Planning Service, which is potential the most controversial aspect of our contact with the Authority, and forget about the rest of the Authority’s work.
Parwich in particular has befitted greatly from the input of the Village Officers, though our Village Action Group. Lynn’s information also indicates how much we benefit from the Ranger Service.
I hope Lynn will continue to use PARWICH.ORG to keep us informed of what is coming up and how local people can get more involved.
This is particularly heartening in the light of the Authority’s recent strides forward in local consultation.