What We Do

Guardians of the Peak District landscapes

Friends of the Peak District safeguards the landscapes of Britain’s first and (we think) most beautiful national park.

We challenge and campaign against developments that threaten the Peak District’s beauty and tranquillity.

We want thriving rural communities, so we support homes for local people, sustainable jobs and local services, and champion suitable renewable energy, environmental building design and green transport schemes.

We work to protect the countryside in the Peak District National Park, in the High Peak and, as we are also a branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), we also look after the countryside in South Yorkshire (Sheffield, Rotherham, Doncaster and Barnsley) and six parishes in North East Derbyshire (Barlow, Dronfield, Eckington, Holmesfield, Killamarsh and Unstone).

Why We Are Needed

Despite its national park status, the Peak District’s landscape and surrounding countryside remains fragile and vulnerable to a wide number of threats.

The Peak District is the third most visited national park in the UK and the world’s most heavily quarried national park. Its location, unique for a national park, surrounded by so many large towns and cities, puts huge pressures on its space, land and wildlife.

The area’s beautiful countryside just outside the remit of the Peak District national park are particularly vulnerable following recent changes to the planning laws.

Friends of the Peak District campaign for a living, working countryside that changes with time but remains beautiful for ever. Our aim is to ensure the balance is kept between a vibrant, sustainable rural economy and protecting this outstanding countryside.