Latest News - May 2010
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May 25th 2010 Planning Help launched!
We're launching our brand new Planning Help service this week. It aims to give clear, impartial information and advice to local people about planning applications that could affect local countryside.
“We’re a charity that exists to look after our local landscapes,” explains John King, our Planning Officer at Friends of the Peak District. “So we’re not going to be able to give people advice about their own individual housing extensions! But if you’re worried about a planning application for, say, a new building development in an area of valued countryside then we can tell you about the steps you need to take to fight it.”
Although we have campaigned successfully to stop many developments that would compromise our landscapes, we've also supported planning applications for things like affordable housing and green energy projects.
“There may well be planning applications that people want to support too: for instance, plans for affordable housing, or expanding a village post office to keep it viable,” adds John King. “If you know there’s some opposition you might not want to keep quiet, and again we can talk through how to get involved in the planning system.”
Have a look at our Planning Help pages first - and then if you need to, give us a ring on 0114 266 5822 on Thursday afternoons between 2pm and 5pm.
May 12th 2010 Snake Pass mast: good
We're giving the thumbs up to a new unobtrusive emergency services mast at the top of Snake Pass.
The four metre high mast discretely doubles up with an existing road sign, whilst a generator and liquid petroleum gas tank are buried under the ground.
We think it’s a great bit of work. Coldharbour Moor is probably one of the wildest areas of the Peak District. It’s a Special Area of Conservation and protected Natural Zone. The original plans for the mast and buildings were really intrusive and would have ruined this precious landscape, so we want to thank the police and others for coming up with a sensitive solution that works for everyone.
We were appalled at the original plans in 2006 for a six and a half metre mast, brand new lay-by and highly visible metal cabins to house equipment, and fought to get them improved. Over the last four years, Derbyshire Constabulary have made five different planning applications. The Peak District National Park Authority finally okayed the latest plans last summer.
“It’s a win-win situation. The police and other emergency services can now get full reception across this area, whilst this last bit of wilderness at the Snake Pass summit remains pretty much unspoilt for walkers and everyone else who values it,” says our planning officer, John King.
