Peak District bridleway repair campaign wins €30,000

The Cut Gate bridleway repair project in the Peak District National Park has been awarded a grant of 30,000 Euros from the European Outdoor Conservation Association (EOCA).

Cut Gate bridleway proved its popularity with walkers, mountain bikers and horse riders by gaining the most public votes (57%) in the ‘Eco-tourism, Forest and Mountain’ category of EOCA’s international online competition.

The repair project is part of the British Mountaineering Council’s (BMC) Mend Our Mountains national campaign – the BMC entered Cut Gate into the competition with support on the bid from the Moors for the Future Partnership.

The project is being championed by user groups including Peak District MTB, Ride Sheffield, Peak Horsepower and Keeper of the Peak, who are promoting the campaign and supporting the fundraising effort.

Sarah Slowther, fundraising development manager for the Peak District National Park Authority, said: “We are absolutely delighted that Cut Gate has won this significant grant from the European Outdoor Conservation Association.

“It’s a great boost to this partnership fundraising campaign and we want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who voted for Cut Gate – it’s a real partnership effort and it wouldn’t have happened without you.

“The fact that Cut Gate secured over half of the votes in the category, up against three other fantastic conservation projects, reminds us how well-loved the route is by everyone who uses it.”

The fundraising effort continues – people can donate to the campaign to repair Cut Gate at mendmountains.thebmc.co.uk/donations/cut-gate.