The plaque in Bowden Bridge Quarry, Hayfield, Derbyshire, commemorating the Kinder Scout mass trespass of April 1932

The plaque in Bowden Bridge Quarry, Hayfield, Derbyshire, commemorating the Kinder Scout mass trespass of April 1932

A heritage centre to commemorate the 1932 Kinder Scout Mass Trespass will be set up in the village of Hayfield, starting point for the protest.

A grant of £18,000 from the Peak District’s Sustainable Development Fund will help establish the centre, which will promote awareness of the events surrounding the incident, in which a group of ramblers fought with gamekeepers on the Duke of Devonshire’s Kinder Scout estate in a struggle to establish the right to walk on the high moors.

The events of 1932 were crucial in the campaign to gain access to the Peak District hills, and the gathering was addressed by a young Manchester Communist, Benny Rothman, at Bowden Bridge Quarry on the edge of Hayfield, before leading the group on to Kinder Scout.

The mass trespass is seen as a crucial event in the movement that gained access for walkers to Britain’s countryside and the establishment of the country’s national parks.

Other grants, among the £70,000 handed out by the fund are £15,000 to Park Art, a project to bring up to 200 young people from disadvantaged areas of Leek into the national park and inspire artistic activities.

An £8,400 handout will go towards willow arches, dens and willow planting at Dukes Barn outdoor centre for disabled people at Beeley. The project will be carried out by 30 young volunteers, who will learn the skills from a willow worker, and will include a wheelchair-accessible path.

Nine projects in all will receive cash from the fund.

Chair of the Sustainable Development Fund panel, Pauline Beswick, said: “It’s clear there is a really strong commitment among local communities, organisations and individuals to a sustainable future for the Peak District. These projects are imaginative, innovative and inspiring, and we are pleased to be able to support them.”

Grants cover up to 75 per cent of costs for community projects, and 50 per cent for business projects, and advice is given on other sources of help.

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