Peak District in England’s top ten greatest places

Image: Stanage Edge in the Peak District National Park

The Peak District National Park has been rated among the ten greatest places in England in a poll by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI).

More than 700 people nominated 200 locations and judges then selected a winner for each region of the country.

The Peak District National Park was chosen for the East Midlands region and will now be put to a national public vote to decide ‘England’s Greatest Place’.

The judges said: “It is an astonishing achievement to have protected such a beautiful place over so many years given the pressures on it from the surrounding urban centres. The Peak District was the first National Park – a great place that has been managed by the planning system to conserve and enhance its unique characteristics.”

Sarah Fowler, chief executive of the Peak District National Park Authority, said: “We are very proud of the work we do look after this special place and it is rewarding to see it recognised like this. The Peak District National Park is there for everyone to enjoy and our job is to make sure that is still the case for future generations.’’

England’s Greatest Places is a competition organised by the RTPI to recognise and celebrate some of the country’s most attractive and inspiring places and the role of planners in helping to protect or shape them.

The other regional winners are:
• Letchworth Garden City, East of England
• Brindley Place, Birmingham, West Midlands
• Kings Cross Regeneration, London
• Kielder Park, North East
• Liverpool Waterfront, North West
• Thame High Street, South East
• Bath, South West – joint winner
• Bristol, South West – joint winner
• Saltaire, Yorkshire

To vote for the Peak District as England’s greatest place, go to http://www.rtpi.org.uk/egpvoting, or Tweet or Instagram your vote to #RTPIgreatplaces.

The vote is open until Friday 20 November.