The Gateway to Kinder project, on the site of the Hayfield Countryside Centre, will provide:-
BACKGROUND
Hayfield (and this site in particular) is conceptually and physically the gateway to the NW Peak District and the Kinder Massif. Routes converge on this point, and the village has been a communications hub for centuries, from the packhorses and railways of the past to today's visitors, walkers, riders and mountain bikers. This flow of people is now the economic lifeblood of the High Peak area, but many of these people and their spending power pass by the village and its businesses.
This site is particularly key, being the village bus station and car park and the site of the former railway station. It makes absolute sense to focus visitor services at this point.
The aim of this project is to provide the facilities to allow Derbyshire Countryside Service, KMRT and Hayfield itself to utilise and further develop this feature in a sustainable way.
PURPOSE
To provide facilities to:-
Improve visitor management:-
Huge numbers of people use this corridor/access point. The destination of the vast majority is the Kinder massif, which is badly affected by erosion as a result. Better management of visitors will decrease user pressures on Kinder by:-
Promoting alternative routes and destinations within the immediate area to deflect visitor flows
Making people more aware of the environmental impact of their actions
Inform visitors of both their rights and responsibilities in the countryside, particularly in the light of the access provisions in the CRoW Act.
Allow Derbyshire Countryside Service to communicate their message better. This project represents an opportunity to produce an innovative facility that presents the environment in a way which makes it understandable and accessible. It will provide:-
A facility where the issues facing the countryside and its users, both residents and visitors, can be presented in an integrated manner
A building which is part of the interpretation, rather than a set of walls on which to place notices. The building will be designed using eco-friendly and wildlife-friendly principles. It will to show what the environment really is and how we all interact with and affect it.
A "one stop shop" where all agencies represented, allowing cross-border and multi-agency working.
A facility which empowers people - shows people that the environment is all around them, it is theirs, they have access to it, but they also have responsibilities for it - that they can make a difference.
A facility which is fully accessible to all
THE "ONE STOP SHOP"
The Peak National Park boundary wraps around Hayfield, in places within 300m of the site. Within ½ mile there are 3 different countryside management services operating, and within 5 miles there are 4. Residents and visitors are not interested in what colour ranger's uniform is worn, or where a line is drawn on a map. Such matters are even more irrelevant to wildlife, landscape and weather. Furthermore the boundary does not indicate a point at which landscape or biodiversity value ends.
If it is sensible to focus visitor services at this location, then it follows that it is sensible to co-ordinate the services provided by the various organisations and have them represented in one Countryside Centre. This is the opportunity presented by this project. The first step in this is the partnership between DCC and KMRT. It is hoped that the Peak National Park and the National Trust will have some involvement.
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