In reply to Rob Greenwood - UKClimbing:
Just giving this a bit of a bump, and a little background for anyone who doesn't know what it is about.
The Stanage Forum is comprised of all relevant stakeholders (that is, climbers, local residents, land owners, Peak District National Park, other recreational groups, farmers etc.). The Forum is used as a way of making decisions and recommendations to the National Park and has been successful at reducing conflict between the different groups, although to be fair it is still an ongoing battle to have the estate prioritised by the PDNP in ways that would benefit all user groups. The Forum meets about 8 times through the year and has BMC access reps Louise, Adam, and myself involved. Saturday is the Open Meeting - where members of the public are welcome to come and see what has happened over the past year and what is in the offing for the next 12 months.
I can't promise that the meeting will be thrilling, and I appreciate that last year there was a lot of frustration (quite reasonably so) at how thin the management plan was that was presented by the PDNP. This is exactly why a good representation by climbers demonstrates that we are an informed and engaged group, which lends pressure and legitimacy to decision making at the Forum meetings.
However I can promise that there will be tea and cake, information on the ring ouzels and ecology work, and the opportunity to raise questions and concerns.
