The last twelve months have seen an increasing focus on the role of National Parks for the nation, with attention focussing on both how we deliver our purposes and the challenges to our protections. The Peak District is a vital landscape which delivers countless benefits, within its boundary and beyond: as a place of escape for millions of visitors; a home for some 35,000 residents; and a source of clean, fresh water for millions across our wider region, to name but a few. As the Authority tasked with ensuring the continued delivery of these benefits, we have delivered against our Authority Plan during the 2025/26 financial year despite ongoing challenges, including financial uncertainty and the ongoing and increasing impacts of climate change.

Reading this Performance and Business Plan update as we close out financial year 2025/26, I’m delighted to see that the majority of our actions have been delivered on target. The Policy and Communities Team have been working strenuously to bring together our Local Plan update, with countless hours spent engaging with the various communities that this new Plan will affect. We’re on track to submit the new Local Plan by the end of 2026 which, once approved by Government, will set the parameters for sustainable and sympathetic development within the National Park. Alongside this, the Monitoring and Enforcement Team are bringing us into a much-improved position to support the implementation of this new Plan, with the overall number of outstanding enforcement cases reduced by 36% over two years.

I’m extremely pleased to note our work removing barriers to access to the Peak District’s landscapes, using Access for All capital funding. This includes a new Changing Place at Trentabank, which will allow visitors with complex needs to more easily access the amazing Macclesfield Forest. We’ve also increased the provision of e-bikes and specialist cycles at our Cycle Hire Centres, meaning more visitors can benefit from the enjoyment and safety provided by cycling on our car-free trails. This vital work delivers on our purpose to make access and enjoyment of the Peak District available to everyone, a vital mission for which this National Park was established 75 years ago.

This year, a significant task for the Authority has been delivering projects using the capital uplift we received from Defra. Thanks to the hard work of many staff across the Authority, we have successfully delivered a number of initiatives that will help enhance our future income streams, to secure the future of our work.

I’m grateful to the dedication of all the staff and volunteers who drive forward our work as an Authority, alongside the partner organisations and communities within and beyond the National Park who contribute to the huge collaborative effort of protecting this special place. In what is my final year as a Member, and as Chair of the Authority, a position which I’m honoured to have held, I look forward to seeing what the future holds for the Peak District National Park.

Ken Smith Chair