VOLUNTEERS have helped keep a national park on track to hit a target central to one of its main purposes.

A report to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority has revealed despite a large volume of work needed on rights of way in the new, western area of the park, it was set to meet its target of having 90 per cent of the routes signposted, free from obstructions and easy to use by 2023.

In the report, Alan Hulme, the head of the park’s Ranger Service, said while “disappointing”figures for this year showed the proportion of easy to use routes had declined, the figure was a random sample and the fall had been caused by a landslide blocking a bridleway in Swaledale.

Mr Hulme said over the past year volunteers had spent 489 days surveying the routes and 1,361 days helping with practical work on rights of way, which were fundamental to the achievement of the park’s statutory purposes.

He said the volunteer work equated to about nine full-time members of staff for the authority.

The report states the authority had secured £440,000 of external funding and in-kind contributions for rights of way work last year and had identified numerous opportunities for securing funding for work this year.

Mr Hulme said: “The authority helps farmers and landowners maintain their stiles and gates, whilst residents and visitors have certainty about where they can go, and have an enjoyable experience of the area. Businesses benefit because access to the area’s special qualities, through the rights of way network, underpins the visitor economy.