Heard the rumours about the Eastern Moors estate? Read on for the latest…

Climbers and walkers may have heard rumours about the future ownership of the Peak District National Park’s Eastern Moors – which includes Froggatt, Curbar, Big Moor, and Birchen. The facts are that the National Park Authority is very properly conducting an internal reappraisal of all its assets. As a multipurpose body it has to ensure none of its purposes (conservation, recreation, economic) is compromised by any future arrangement, but because of financial pressures it has to be prepared to consider innovative approaches to land management. The RSPB has raised the prospect with the Authority of further developing a partnership established through the Peak Birds Project into a leasing arrangement for the Eastern Moors. Separate but similar suggestions are believed to have been made in respect of Burbage, Higgar Tor and Millstone; Stanage North Lees; and possibly Longshaw.

No firm proposals have yet been made, so in one sense there is as yet nothing to discuss. Nevertheless, given an increase in recent years in restrictions on climbing (which the BMC has yet to be convinced are ecologically necessary or have had any impact on the size of breeding populations), the BMC has lost no time in registering extreme concern at even the hint of anything which has potentially disastrous consequences – despite some absolute assurances to the contrary – for core climbing areas and the local economy. The BMC has also received assurance that if matters are taken further, any process will be entirely open. This note will be updated as soon as there is more to report. 11/3/05

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