Peak District staff asked to consider redundancy

The national park's managing body is expecting its funding to fall

The body that manages the Peak District has asked staff for expressions of interest in voluntary redundancy or reduced working hours in anticipation of a cut in government funding.

The Peak District National Park Authority currently receives about £6.67m a year from Defra, but the current three-year arrangement ends this financial year.

The authority has said it "is continuing to manage significant financial challenges due to a declining government grant and increasing costs".

It currently employs about 280 people, including rangers, ecologists, and archaeologists.

The authority, based in Bakewell in Derbyshire, previously said it had had a 50% real terms funding cut over the last decade, while grappling with issues like wildfires and dangerous parking.

'National pride'

It added no decisions would be taken until future funding is set, and ways to increase income were also being explored.

A spokesperson said: "Establishing the level of interest in voluntary redundancy or reduced hours will help with future business planning and may help mitigate the impact of a potential further grant cut."

A Defra spokesperson said the country's national parks "are a source of great national pride" and the department understood "resourcing remains a challenge".

They said an "uplift" of £15m had been provided to national parks "in addition to up to £400m a year" towards "restoring nature across the country".

They added Defra would work with organisations to identify additional funding and "foster innovation".

In January, the Peak District National Park Authority said it was undertaking a "significant restructure", while in May it suggested a visitor charge could boost its coffers.