The Peak District National Park Authority are seeking new members for the Peak District Sustainable Development Fund’s grants panel. The fund allocates money to communities and businesses to help sustain the future of the Park and its communities.
To find out more PR 590 – Tuesday 5 May 2009
Could you help decide “green” grants for the Peak District?
The Peak District Sustainable Development Fund needs two new members of its panel to help allocate grants to communities and businesses.
The eight-strong independent panel is especially looking for people with interests in the arts or cultural heritage, in biodiversity, and in black or minority ethnic involvement in National Parks.
Each year the fund gives about £180,000 to environmental, community, cultural and educational projects that help safeguard the future of the Peak District.
More than 200 projects have been supported so far, including:
- Arts for Health workshops as therapy for isolated rural patients
- Traditional story-telling for rural schools
- Renewable energy schemes for village halls
- Support for people from inner cities to build links with the Peak District
- Sustainable community groups promoting energy conservation and renewable energy schemes
- Village groups which carry on the heritage and traditions of the area, including Castleton Garland Ceremony and a Hartington Through The Ages exhibition
- Seed-money to launch community allotments and bee-hives
The Sustainable Development Fund is managed by the Peak District National Park Authority and financed by Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs).
Anne Ashe, chair of the panel, said:
Panel-members represent a cross-section of the groups we deal with – businesses, local communities, environmental groups and young people. They are unpaid but their travel-expenses are re-imbursed and it is an opportunity to put something back into the community. It is not too time-consuming as the panel meets every three months in Bakewell.
Applicants should send one side of A4 explaining their understanding of sustainable development and of their specialist knowledge of the arts and/or cultural heritage or of black and minority ethnic communities.
The deadline is May 22, and applications should be sent to Richard Godley, Sustainable Development Officer, Peak District National Park Authority, Aldern House, Baslow Road, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1AE. Or e-mail richard.godley@peakdistrict.gov.uk
PARWICH.ORG 
Also it worth local groups considering if they can access any of this money, over and above the sustainable energy aspects of the planned new Memorial Hall. For example: producing the village map; marketing and developing local history and walk books; following up on the interest in developing local allotments; developing the idea of a local cyber café.
Why not add any ideas you would like to persue to see if anyone else wants to help follow up an application.
If anyone is interested in making an application for a grant from the Sustainable Development Fund more information can be found at http://www.peakdistrict.gov.uk/sdf
The next deadline for applications is 12 June for the panel that sits in July. The deadline after that is 11 September for the October panel.
John Fern
Head of communications
Peak District National Park Authority
Thanks for your comment, John. As it happens, the Memorial Hall funding team have already applied for a Sustainable Development Fund grant, and a response is expected in the very near future.
But the Memorial Hall application need not stop any other local groups or businesses applying for other projects in and around Parwich.