Restructure FAQs
The following Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) relate to the Authority’s Organisational Restructure programme (2023). Additional information may also be found via our Media pages.
Please note, some aspects of the below may be subject to change following the announcement of an offer of independent financial support for the operation of our visitor centres in early June 2023.
If your individual circumstances mean that you require a physical copy of these FAQs, please contact our customer service team on
Last updated 23.05.23.
When will final decisions be made on any Authority operations that affect the public?
Authority Members approved on 28 April 2023 an internal consultation on a range of operational and structural changes to the National Park Authority. Staff were informed at a series of face-to-face meetings on 3 May and a briefing paper with further information circulated to the workforce on 4 May, when the formal consultation process began. A formal public statement was made available on 5 May 2023 due to prior purdah restrictions.
Following the consultation running from 4 May 2023 a final set of proposals for formal agreement and implementation will be presented at the 28 July Authority meeting.
Will there be a public consultation on the proposals/a formal opportunity for the public to submit their views?
Whilst there is no statutory requirement for the Authority to undertake a formal public consultation on any aspect of an organisational restructure programme, we understand the public and others may have questions or concerns. We will keep this set of FAQs updated with relevant, additional information on any concerns that are being raised in significant numbers about the restructure programme.
There is also an online form where the public can submit their views.
Information on upcoming Authority meetings (such as Agendas and public participation) will be made available ahead of meeting dates as part of our standard practices, along with general information.
What opportunities have staff had to provide feedback to the restructure plans?
Following the chief executive sharing his options for consideration to staff in February 2023, comments and feedback were received via a number of channels including online forms, email, letter and collective responses. Some 70 individual and collective responses were made and all were reviewed by the chief executive. This process was not a formal consultation but an opportunity for the workforce and others to share their views. Due to the high volume of comments, the chief executive considered the views overall within his formal proposals put to Members of the Authority in April 2023 but individual comments were not made available other than those that were sent to Members directly from various groups, individuals and Unison.
As these proposals have now been approved by Members, a formal consultation process - alongside the relevant union and internal staff committee representatives - will take place for all colleagues affected in any way by the proposed restructure programme. The Authority recognises that by the very nature of some of the changes being proposed, not all colleagues will agree with them and the decisions made may not reflect some of the views shared in the earlier feedback process.
Will visitor centres close and when will this happen?
Update 6 June 2023
Following an offer of financial support from an independent, external donor, proposals for operational changes to our visitor centres have been paused. Workforce consultations involving those based at our visitor centre facilities have also been paused. The offer of funding support is subject to a number for formal processes which will now be undertaken.
The additional information below is included for the purposes of open government and was applicable prior to 6 June 2023.
[Formal proposals have been made to close or re-purpose the Authority’s visitor centres at Castleton, Bakewell, Edale and the Upper Derwent Valley (Fairholmes). A consultation process will take place from 4 May 2023 involving those members of staff affected by the proposals and other relevant stakeholders at these locations. Any final decision on implementation of the formal proposals will not be taken until July 28 2023. If closures or changes to operations are approved, these would not take place until at least October/November 2023.]
How many staff are affected by the proposals?
*Please note the information below may be affected by the funding support described in item no.6 and the following numbers may be significantly reduced*
Although numbers may change during the ongoing consultation process and up until final decisions are made in July, up to 65 people are at risk of redundancy with the creation of 31 new posts. The Authority hopes to retain the skills and experience of as many staff as possible within some of the newly-created positions. Overall, the Authority anticipates a net reduction in its workforce of around 7%. Smaller changes to some other existing posts include role title differences or the moving of teams to alternative departments.
Is the Authority’s management structure changing?
Yes. Current levels of senior managers or 'Heads of Service' will reduce by over half, to four overall posts if proposals are implemented in July.
What other changes are proposed to the workforce and pay?
Independent pay analysis suggests that across a number of pay scales, typically those above the most junior roles and in more specialist posts, the Authority is currently offering salaries below comparative positions across sector competitors. This has presented particular recruitment and retention challenges to teams such as Planning & Development Management, where the Authority has a crucial statutory role and wants to deliver a timely, efficient and sustainable service to customers and partners.
The formal proposals set out aim to achieve parity with similar employers, including improved pay scales that are in line with, or in some cases slightly above the 'median' average highlighted in independent analysis. This will not impact on all scales and roles, but those where there is currently the greatest discrepancy. Where additional recruitment challenges exist for some specialist or technical roles (such as planning), welcome packages of additional financial benefits may be offered. These packages are not proposed for any new senior management positions.
Does the National Park Authority own all of the buildings where its visitor centres operate from?
No. The only buildings the Authority owns where we currently operate visitor centres are Castleton and Edale. Facilities at Bakewell and Fairholmes (Upper Derwent Valley) are leased from other organisations.
Bike Hire centres operate separately and in addition to these locations and are primarily focused on hire activities, with only modest provision for retail and information. These centres are not being considered for change as part of the current options put forward. Under any review of how the Authority undertakes future engagement with visitors, our Bike Hire centres may be considered in supporting these aims.
Where the Authority already owns or has a suitable lease at our visitor centre locations, options are being considered to make space currently occupied by retail sales available to third party retailers, with increased returns for the Authority through these lease agreements. Joint partnership sites such as Fairholmes (Upper Derwent Valley) may see visitor engagement change from static counter-based options to volunteer-supported engagement across the wider site as a whole.
What about provision of visitor information (please see below)?
How will visitor information be provided if there is no formal presence at visitor centre locations?
Following an offer of financial support from an independent, external donor, proposals for operational changes to our visitor centres have been paused. Workforce consultations involving those based at our visitor centre facilities have also been paused. The offer of funding support is subject to a number for formal processes which will now be undertaken.
The additional information below is included for the purposes of open government and was applicable prior to 6 June 2023.
[No formal decisions have yet been taken on alternatives to the presence of staff at visitor centres, however options being considered include; static information points with digital access (such as QR codes) linking to frequently asked enquiries and locations, physical materials such as the Authority’s annual Welcome Guide, ‘welcome’ volunteers and improved website information. Mobile information points are also being explored to target engagement at key sites within the National Park.
If changes to visitor centre operations take place, the Authority will undertake an Equality Impact Assessment on potentially affected audiences and communities. The Authority does not carry data or formal analysis on the background of customers currently visiting our information centres, however wider independent data estimates that overall, Peak District National Park visitor audiences are largely reflective of those of surrounding communities within an hour’s travelling time of the Peak District.]
What will happen to the Castleton Historical Society (CHS) displays at the Castleton Visitor Centre?
We are working closely with those who may have displays or exhibitions based at our centres (such as CHS) and we aim to ensure these can continue to be available to the public, even if Authority operations at these locations change.
Will associated cafes and concessions continue to operate if centres are closed?
We are aware of the important and popular service that many of our food and beverage concessions provide and will work with either our lease partners (where relevant) or on our own sites to ensure these facilities can continue to operate wherever possible, even if our own operations change.
How many people visit the Peak District National Park each year?
Although there is no formal measure of visitor movements into the Peak District (unlike ‘gated’ national parks in the USA, for example), a range of existing tourism and transport data would suggest current visitor numbers are around 13 million each year.
This data does not provide more detailed information on those audiences within the total figures such as residents and business/work movements or other local visitors. Around 9 out of 10 visits to the national park are considered to be day visits (without an overnight stay).
How many people go to National Park visitor centres each year?
We currently welcome around 400,000 people across the four visitor centres each year.
Do you have data on the financial impact of visitor centres to the local economy and the added value they provide?
The Authority does not have data which calculates the direct financial impact of visitor centres to the local economy of the areas where they are based. As a largely incidental service, our visitor centres are not inherently ‘destination’ locations in themselves that may drive footfall specifically to any given area; along with any associated financial impact that may have. We recognise the important role and added value that centres often play as part of their community and in supporting responsible visiting and provision of information. However, our visitor centres currently engage with only a very small proportion of the overall number of visitors to the Peak District and on that basis may no longer be financially viable for the National Park Authority as it seeks to be more resilient and sustainable with fewer financial resources.
How much does it cost the National Park Authority to operate visitor centres and do they make a profit?
Between 2015 and 2022 the Authority's combined network of four visitor centres (Castleton, Edale, Bakewell and Upper Derwent Valley*) cost on average £707,000 each year to operate. This includes employee costs, building costs, transport costs and costs for supplies and services - including items that are sold in the centres themselves.
Although revenue is generated from retail sales made within the centres, over the same eight year period, the average annual deficit (loss) for running the visitor centre network was £189,000.
*The Upper Derwent Visitor Centre is operated in partnership with the landowner, Severn Trent. All other centres are operated directly by the Authority.
How will you communicate to visitors about responsible visiting if centres are closed?
Following an offer of financial support from an independent, external donor, proposals for operational changes to our visitor centres have been paused. Workforce consultations involving those based at our visitor centre facilities have also been paused. The offer of funding support is subject to a number for formal processes which will now be undertaken.
The additional information below is included for the purposes of open government and was applicable prior to 6 June 2023.
We will be exploring a range of options throughout this programme of organisational change, including how important information can still be shared with visitors to the Peak District if visitor centre operations are affected. The following activities will also continue to operate:
- Our National Park Engagement Rangers
- The National Park website which receives over 2.5 million visits each year, with improved sections on facilities, access, site information and responsible visiting.
- Our social media channels with an audience of 150,000 people, with an annual reach of around 30 million
- Information provision in our Bike Hire centres
- Exploring mobile visitor information facilities
- Working in collaboration with Visit Peak District & Derbyshire
Existing feedback from our visitor centres and website allows us to understand the most frequently requested information about the Peak District and this may be used to develop alternative information options to be used both in person and digitally.