The Peak District Rural Pathfinder has completed its three-year programme to encourage enterprise amongst businesses and communities in rural areas.

The Rural Pathfinder, which was led by Derbyshire Dales District Council together with the Derby and Derbyshire Economic Partnership, set up new initiatives designed to help rural communities become more enterprising. The report on their work is published today, alongside the national Defra report ‘Rural Challenges, Local Solutions’

A key discovery of the Pathfinder was that whilst there was a wealth of business support services available, many businesses, communities and individuals were unaware that such help existed or didn’t know which organisation provided which service.

To resolve this, the Pathfinder developed a Protocol Agreement, signed by more than 18 public sector organisations, across the East and West Midlands and paved the way for the development of Peak Directions, www.peakdirections.co.uk. This website provides user-friendly information, support and guidance for businesses and community groups in the Peak District. Since its launch in April 2007, over 40,000 people have benefited from the service.

In addition over 13,000 copies of a range of Pocket Guides have been distributed across the Rural Action Zone, covering advice on everything from engineering to the creative industries.

The Rural Delivery Pathfinder programme was launched jointly by Defra and local government in March 2005 to look at innovation in the delivery of rural services, test opportunities for more joined-up, flexible working and set local priorities.

Minister for Rural Affairs, Jonathan Shaw said:

“The achievements of each Pathfinder are distinctive, reflecting local priorities and circumstances. They have worked together to get more value out of funding streams and have brought strong leadership to improving the rural services. I congratulate the local authorities involved for the success they’ve achieved and I look forward to seeing them and others share the learning and build on that success.”

Councillor Lewis Rose OBE, Chair of the Peak District Rural Action Zone and Leader of Derbyshire Dales District Council, said

“The Peak District Rural Pathfinder has undertaken a considerable amount of work to improve access to the services that support business and enterprise.

It has been a new and refreshing way of delivering rural services in the Peak District.

David Wheatcroft, Chief Executive of Derbyshire Dales District Council and Chairman of the Peak District Rural Pathfinder Officer Group, added:

The challenges we now face are to ensure that learning from the Pathfinder lives on, and that our collaborative way of working is embedded in local and regional structures in the future. I also hope that, on a national level, our key messages are taken forward to ensure benefits from the Rural Pathfinders are felt for many years to come.”

A beneficiary of the work of the Pathfinder was the new Peak District ‘Rural Hub’, which locates eight organisations together under one roof. The Rural Hub is based at the Agricultural Business Centre (ABC) in Bakewell and opened in January 2008. It provides a comprehensive range of public, private and voluntary sector services.


Speaking on the culmination of his work, Rob Jones, the Peak District Rural Pathfinder Officer noted:

“Working on the Pathfinder initiative has been a very enjoyable and memorable experience. I am confident that the projects put in place by the Pathfinder and its partners will benefit communities and enterprise in ways not thought of before.
The key to future successes will be to ensure our learning is built into local and regional ways of working, and to encourage other areas to follow the Pathfinders lead”

The Pathfinder has ensured that all of the initiatives set up over its lifespan are sustainable and are able to adapt to meet local needs as required.