Peak District wins top award for accessibility

The Peak District National Park has been named ‘Organisation of the Year’ by Accessible Derbyshire.

The award was presented at the inaugural ceremony at Chatsworth in recognition of the Peak District National Park’s work in providing opportunities for disabled people to experience Britain’s first national park.

Accepting the award, David Chapman, deputy chair of the Peak District National Park, said: “We are committed to helping as many people as possible to enjoy the national park and a great deal of work goes into making that happen.

“We are delighted to receive this award because it shows that our efforts are making a difference. The Peak District is a wonderful place and everyone should be able to enjoy it, whatever their circumstances.”

This is the first time the ‘Organisation of the Year’ award has been presented and it requires the recipient to have accessibility high on their strategic agenda.

The citation for the award covered inclusive cycle hire and the BOMA 7 wheelchair bike, visitor centres and accessible trails, improvements to North Lees campsite, health walks and working in partnership.

Jane Carver and Gillian Scotford, co-founders of Accessible Derbyshire, said: “The Peak District National Park has impressed us with a wide variety of work to help people enjoy the area, regardless of their access needs, from its incredible network of accessible trails with cycling hubs, tramper hire and events with the Disabled Ramblers Association and Walking for Health, to their work in partnership with many other organisations to improve access and support accessible transport such as the Dambusters’ minibus.”

Accessible Derbyshire praised the Peak District National Park for being the first organisation in the area to film access using Google trails and have videos on accessible walks on the website, for constantly improving the offering by upgrading visitor centres, car parks, gates and pathways such as the recent improvements from Long Causeway to Stanage.

They were also pleased with the Peak District National Park’s plans for the future which include an accessible camping pod at North Lees campsite, the introduction of the Miles Without Stiles partnership project, the provision of Changing Places facilities wherever possible, and the training of all staff on accessibility awareness.

Photo caption: (left to right) David Chapman deputy chair of the Peak District National Park and Sue Smith Access Officer receiving the ‘Organisation of the Year’ award from Accessible Derbyshire’s Jane Carver (co-founder), Jim Dixon (patron) and Gillian Scotford (co-founder).