Mystery donor saves Peak District visitor centres from closure

Staff had said businesses and visitors would suffer without the centres

Four Peak District visitor centres will no longer face closure after an anonymous donor offered to fund them.

Staff spoke of their anger when the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) announced in February it would review the futures of sites in Bakewell, Bamford, Castleton and Edale.

The authority said a consultation "has been paused following an offer of operational funding support for up to three years".

Employees were informed on Monday.

'Incredibly grateful'

The centres currently host about 400,000 visitors per year, and a final decision was due to be made on 28 July.

Phil Mulligan, the authority's chief executive, said the "unexpected support" from the secret benefactor "gives us time to explore and develop ways for our visitor centres to become financially sustainable".

"This is certainly very good news and I appreciate the relief it will bring to the many colleagues who will have been affected by the proposals for our visitor centres so far," he said.

"Whilst we are incredibly grateful to the donor for their generous offer allowing us to continue visitor centre operations for up to another three years, our deep-seated financial challenges as an organisation do remain and other colleagues within additional teams may still be impacted in the weeks and months ahead."