The Peak District National Park Authority is to sell a number of woodlands with six initial sites selected.
Jane Chapman, assistant director at the Peak District National Park Authority, said: ‘Following a review of our properties, we have identified six woodlands to be sold now, with a similar number to follow later in the year.
‘Having established or improved these woods – often by reclaiming former rubbish tips or quarry sites – then protected and maintained them over many years, we have fulfilled our primary objective as a national park. We now want to return these natural assets to the community, as we are reducing our liabilities at a time of budget reductions and would like to make the best possible use of the resources we have.
‘The sales will allow us to focus on the protection, improvement and maintenance of our remaining woodlands.’
The Authority currently manages 120 woodlands, covering approximately 443 hectares of land. The portfolio has been acquired since the designation of the national park, with the aim of securing important landscape features, rescuing woodlands which were deemed to be under threat or in need of restoration. They were also acquired as part of major estates.
