Extra funding for cycle trails and green restoration in park

The authority's overall budget for the next financial year is 8.725m, following a 2.75 per cent increase in the grant it receives from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Some 200,000 of this will be distributed to local community projects through the Sustainable Development Fund, which supports environmental, educational and social projects across the national park.

This year, work will begin on the 5.5m Moorlife project, which aims to restore another 2,000 acres of peat moorlands. This will reduce the risk of flooding, help combat climate change by storing carbon in the peat, and improve the quality of drinking water.

Work will also continue on the 2.25m Pedal Peak District cycling project, funded by the Department of Transport and Cycling England, to improve the quality of off-road cycling trails and promote leisure cycling.

Other schemes announced yesterday as part of the budget include improving communication about the planning process; community visits being held by the authority's chief executive and chairman; providing environmental education courses for more than 14,000 children; running 250 ranger guided walks for residents and visitors; and launching initiatives to improve the wildlife, habitats and landscapes of the Peak District National Park.

Narendra Bajaria, chairman of the Peak District National Park

Authority, said: "We are very grateful that ministers at Defra have decided to increase our grant for 2010/11 in such difficult financial times.

"Ministers have told us that this reflects the importance of the work that national parks are doing on issues like climate change and supporting the rural economy.

"It also recognises that national park authorities are efficiently run organisations that constantly look for new ways of providing services while achieving value for money for taxpayers."

Further details about making applications to the Sustainable

Development Fund can be found on the Peak District National Park Authority's website.