LAND USE IN THE PEAK DISTRICT NATIONAL PARK
Farming
Nearly all of the land in the Peak Park is privately owned. There are about 2700 farms in the Peak Park, most of them small (less than 40 hectares) Some of the farms may not be owned by the farmer himself but by other landowners including the National Trust and the Water Companies. About 60% of the farms are thought to be run on a part-time basis (where the farmer has another job as well). Dairy cattle are kept in the valleys and on the limestone plateau. Sheep and beef cattle are reared on the higher, rough grazing land of the slopes. There is little arable farming as the climate is very harsh and the growing season short.
Forestry
The Peak Park Authority manages 480 hectares of woodland and is involved in encouraging others to manage their woodland. The Water Companies and Forest Enterprise (the State timber-growing body), own large areas of coniferous woodland, mostly in water catchment areas.
Water Supply
Many valleys are dammed and flooded to create reservoirs where water is stored to supply the towns and cities around the Peak Park (such as Leicester and Nottingham). There are 55 reservoirs of over 2 hectares in the Peak Park. These supply 450 million litres of water a day.
Mineral Extraction
Mineral extraction is traditional and important to the local economy but leaves scars on the landscape, causes pollution and traffic congestion. Until the late 1800’s, lead was mined in the Peak District and provided income and employment for many local residents. The old mining remains are of interest to archaeologists and visitors.
Limestone quarrying grew enormously in scale earlier this century and is now the biggest mineral industry. In 1993 6.1 million tonnes were quarried from within the Park. The high quality limestone has a number of uses in the iron and steel and chemical industries, in agriculture, in cement making but most is now used for road stone.
Fluorspar was once thrown away as waste material by lead miners but it is now mined in the Peak Park for use in the manufacture of refrigerants, solvents and anaesthetics (as well as toothpaste). In fact the majority of the fluorspar found in Britain is in the Peak District - especially the acid grade or high quality fluorspar (98%). This means that extraction is needed in the national interest.
Nature Conservation
30 per cent of the Peak Park is designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) by English Nature because of their importance for flora, fauna, geology or geomorphology. English Nature seeks agreements with land owners for SSSIs to be managaed to conserve their special interests, usually at the same time as continuing traditional land uses. Nature conservation was one of the main aims of the Ministry of Agriculture in designating the North Peak and South-West Peak Environmentally Sensitive Areas. Farmers there are encouraged by grants to manage their land for conservation. Outside of the ESAs, MAFF promotes the Countryside Stewardship Scheme which encourages farmers and other land owners, to conserve ecologically important land. This scheme is also promoted by the National Park Authority.
Landscape and Village Conservation
The National Park Authority is primarily responsible for landscape conservation across the National Park. This includes creating conservation areas in villages, to preserve their historical and architectural value and to protect their trees. The Authority also works with English Heritage to help identify and designate scheduled ancient monuments and listed buildings and raise awareness of the importance of our historic landscape.
The National Park Authority puts forward plans to deal with such problems as footpath erosion, unsightly mineral workings and traffic congestion.
Recreation and Tourism
Around 17 million people live within 60 miles of the Peak District National Park. Up to 30 million visits are made to the Park each year, mostly by car. (Only Mount Fuji National Park in Japan gets more visits). There are around 1 million overnight stays each year, 80% of them in camp or caravan sites. Around £137 million is spent in the Peak Park each year by visitors, bringing a good deal of business to local traders.
The Park is also popular for holiday homes - the 1991 census showed that 4.8% of the Park’s houses were second or holiday homes.
A large number of tourists visit beauty spots such as Dovedale, places of interest such as Chatsworth House or the caves at Castleton. More active visitors enjoy walking on the network of footpaths and on the moorland, climbing on the edges of the Dark Peak, sailing on the reservoirs and also cycling, horseriding and gliding.
The National Park Authority provides facilities for the visitors such as:
Information Centres at Bakewell, Castleton, Edale, Upper Derwent, Longendale and Langsett; 20 village shop information agencies and many information signs
Rangers who provide help and information for visitors; help keep up good relations with farmers and other local people; patrol access land and footpaths; and deal with stile repairs, moorland fires or mountain accidents.
Losehill Hall, the Peak Park Study Centre provides day visits and residential courses on many aspects of environmental and countryside education.
car parks in villages and popular beauty spots, often with toilets
permanent trails on redundant railway lines, such as the Tissington Trail, for cycling, walking, riding,
Cycle Hire facilities at four centres
| Access Access to the unenclosed land in the Peak Park has not always been easy. Up to the early 20th century there were only two footpaths across the moorland in the North Peak and it was illegal to go beyond these. During the 1930’s there were several ‘mass tresspasses’ on the moorland plateau and other protest meetings. Following the establishment of the Peak District as a National Park, 25,297 hectares of the Park is now open to Public Access. Of this, the National Park Authority owns 1,357 hectares and 21,053 hectares are included in Access Agreements (1993/4) allowing the public to wander at will, except for a few days each year when grouse shooting takes place. |
The population of the Peak Park is around 38,000, most of whom live in the villages and hamlets dotted through the Park. The population of the Park is slightly older than the national average. Many of the residents are farmers. Others work in quarries or light industries (such as electronics) inside the Peak Park but the majority of the people are employed in service industries - which includes tourism. A number of people however commute to jobs outside the Park and other people who live outside the Park commute to work in local firms.
The largest town in the Peak Park is the market town of Bakewell. About 10% of the population live here. The buildings in the villages are of local stone and the National Park Authority provides guidelines on any new building, so that it will blend in with the existing buildings. The Park Authority carefully examines planning applications for new buildings to see whether they are justified (especially outside villages) and whether they are well designed.
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