The Yorkshire Dales Access Forum (YDAF) consists of 17 members.
The members have been chosen to provide a balanced representation of:
Owners and occupiers of access land and land crossed by rights of way
Users of rights of way or the new right of access
Other interests relevant to the area such as tourism, transport, nature conservation, Access for All, volunteering and health.
If you would like to email a member of the YDAF, please send your email (marked clearly with the name of the member to whom it is to be addressed) to the Access Development Officer who will forward your message to the relevant individual.
Yorkshire Dales Access Forum members
(in alphabetical order)
David Bartlett
Appointment Ends: January 2012
From: Ilkley
Background:
David Bartlett has recently retired after careers in the textile industry, Yorkshire Water and the education sector. He is Honorary Treasurer, Librarian and Web-master of the Wharfedale Beekeepers' Association. David is also a member of the National Trust, RSPB, the Ramblers and Ilkley Civic Society. He is a keen Environmentalist, and is particularly interested in Recycling and Energy Conservation/Policy.
Area of Representation:
Walking
Jon Beavan
Appointment Ends: January 2012
From: Austwick
Background:
Jon Beavan is the proprietor and manager of the Dalesbridge Centre in Austwick. He is a member of the Settle Chamber of Trade, the Settle-Carlisle Business Liaison Group, Yorkshire Tourist Board, British Cave Research Association and the Association of Caving Instructors. Jon is also a Duty Controller of the Cave Rescue Organisation. His interests include caving, walking, climbing, mountain biking, conservation and photography.
Area of Representation:
Outdoor recreation (especially caving and climbing), local business and sustainable tourism.
Andrew Colley
Appointment Ends: January 2012
From: Grassington
Background:
Now retired, Andrew Colley helps run a bed and breakfast business in Grassington where he and his wife have lived for twenty years. He enjoys walking in the Dales countryside, and he and his wife have kept rare breed sheep - Andrew has been chairman of the Dales Support Group of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. His first love is fishing the River Wharfe which runs only three hundred yards past his house, on water run by the Grassington Angling Club, and on other stretches of water run by Yorkshire Anglers of which he is a life member. He is also a member of Grassington Parish Council.
Area of Representation:
YDNPA (Parish Council) appointee
David Gibson (Vice chair)
Appointment Ends: January 2014
From: Burton in Lonsdale
Background:
David Gibson has been a member of the Ramblers Association for over 20 years. David is the chair of the West Riding Ramblers Association Access Committee, Access Officer for Craven Group and Footpath Officer for Craven outside the Dales NP. David also has an interest in local archaeology, Access for All and woodland management.
Area of Representation:
Walking
Colin Ginger
Appointment Ends: January 2014
From: Conistone
Background:
Colin Ginger has lived in Upper Wharfedale since retiring from the World Health Organisation in 1997. Although working on control of river blindness in West Africa, his home for 12½ years was in the Swiss Jura, close to the limestone country of the “Parc Jurassien Vaudois”. As a member of the Upper Wharfedale Field Society, he is involved in its botany, ornithology, geology and walking groups, and is also a long-term member of the Yorkshire Dales Society, the British Trust for Ornithology, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the National Trust, the Yorkshire Dales Green Lanes Alliance and the Green Lanes Environmental Action Movement. Several days a week he uses public transport in Wharfedale while enjoying local walks.
Area of Representation:
Natural history, geology and walking
Neil Heseltine
Appointment Ends: January 2013
From: Malham
Background:
Neil Heseltine was born in Malham where he still lives and farms. Neil was educated at Ermysteds Grammar School, Skipton, and Seale Hayne Agricultural College before spending time travelling and working on farms, firstly in New Zealand then Kelso, Scotland. Neil plays rugby at Wharfedale RUFC and cricket for Littondale and more recently Settle CC. He is currently involved with Malham Parish Council, is a committee member of the National Sheep Association and is the Chairman of Malham Show.
Area of Representation
Land management
Michael Kenyon
Appointment Ends: January 2012
From: Langcliffe, Settle
Background:
Michael Kenyon is a manager at Royal Mail who lives within the Yorkshire Dales National Park. He is a keen Adventure Racer both taking part and helping to organise them. His interests also include fell running, trail running, mountain-biking, orienteering, mountaineering, climbing, and kayaking. He also appreciates and understands the need to protect nature and the environment.
Area of Representation:
Outdoor recreation.
Ken Miller
Appointment Ends: January 2013
From: Middleham
Background:
Ken Miller was brought up and worked for many years in the equine world. He had his own smallholding and stables before becoming a Civil Servant for the Ministry of Defence.
Whilst retaining his equine interests, he is also a keen cyclist and walker. Ken has worked on bridleway and footpath issues in a voluntary capacity for over 25 years.
He is especially interested in access for people with disabilities; particularly into the more challenging areas of our countryside.
Area of Representation:
Horse riding, walking and cycling
Stuart Monk
Appointment Ends: January 2013
From: Ingleton
Background:
Stuart Monk is an engineer who lives and works in the fringe of the Yorkshire Dales National Park. He has been an active trail rider of motorcycles for over 25 years and as such has a good knowledge of the ‘green lanes’ within the area. Stuart is the chairman of the North Yorkshire Trail Management Advisory Group. He is also a member of the Cumbria group of the Trail Riders Fellowship and the Yorkshire Dales Green Lanes Advisory Group.
Area of Representation:
Vehicular user of green lanes.
Jerry Pearlman
Appointment Ends: January 2012
From: Leeds
Background:
Jerry Pearlman is a solicitor in private practice. He specialises in various matters relating to the countryside [especially rights of way] and to National Parks. He is the Honorary Solicitor to the Ramblers Association at national level and to the Open Spaces Society. He drafted the first two private members parliamentary bills outlining the right to roam.
Although based in Leeds, he admits to having a second home in Wensleydale - but always makes the point that it has been his second home for over 40 years!
Area of Representation:
Walking, geology and archaeology
Malcolm Petyt
From: Killington near Sedbergh
Background:
Malcolm Petyt’s career was spent in various universities. He became involved with footpath matters through the Chiltern Society and the Ramblers’ Association in the mid 1970s, and for 25 years was the RA's appointee on the governing council of the National Trust. He has also served on the Executive and Properties Committees of the Trust.
Since retiring Malcolm has taken on posts with the Ramblers' Association in Cumbria, and with both the Yorkshire Dales Society and the Friends of the Lake District. He is a member of the Local Access Forum for the Lake District National Park and since 2002 has been a nationally-appointed to the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority.
Area of Representation:
YDNPA Member Champion for Access and Recreation
David Seaman
Appointment Ends: January 2014
From: Harrogate
Background:
David Seaman did his first full-day walk in the Yorkshire Dales at the age of 15 and has been coming back ever since, particularly since moving to Harrogate 30 years ago. His main activity in the countryside is hill-walking though, since retirement, he has done some mountain-biking and fell-racing and he is interested in the conservation of wildlife and the natural environment. He is a member of the Ramblers Association, the Austrian Alpine Club and the Yorkshire Dales Green Lanes Alliance.
Area of Representation:
Fell running, mountain biking and walking
Sara Spillett
Appointment Ends: January 2014
From: Kettlewell
Background:
Sara Spillett is a Chartered Environmentalist with over 20 years experience of environmental regulation, policy development and implementation for the Environment Agency and Defra. A resident of the Yorkshire Dales National Park all her adult life, she enjoys nature watching and photography, as well as number of sports including paragliding, walking, mountain biking and on occasion sailing. Sara is an active member and treasurer of the Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association and treasurer of Kettlewell’s scarecrow festival.
Area of Representation:
Fell rescue, paragliding and hang gliding.
Mike Stephenson
Appointment Ends: January 2013
From: Foxup, Littondale
Background:
Mike Stephenson is a retired director of youth work who has lived in Foxup, Littondale, since 2006. Mike has been a recreational user of the Yorkshire Dales National Park for over 60 years, his primary pursuits being walking and scrambling. Mike has also organised and led expeditions for young people in the Yorkshire Dales. In his spare time, Mike is a part-time voluntary farmhand in Foxup.
Area of Representation:
Walking, working with young people, farming in the Yorkshire Dales.
Alistair Thompson
Appointment Ends: January 2012
From: Harrogate
Background:
Alistair Thompson is a Programme & Facilities Manager currently working for Bupa Care Services. He has been a Dales Volunteer since 2005 and many of his regular duties in this capacity include maintenance and usage surveys of paths, bridleways, bridges, buildings, and access areas. He is also involved in the Park's guided walks programme and has a particular interest in hill walking and teaching map reading to help visitors and others to appreciate and enjoy the landscape safely and confidently.
Area of interest:
Volunteering
Pat Whelan
Appointment Ends: January 2012
From: Richmond
Background:
Pat Whelan is a retired farmer and has been a member of the British Driving Society for 20 years. Pat also has worked as a Rights of Way Officer for Yorkshire and the North East and has been a Member of various rights of way committees.
Area of Representation:
Landowner and British Driving Society (equine)
Philip Woodyer (Chair)
Appointment Ends: January 2014
From: Preston-under-Scar
Background:
Philip Woodyer is the retired Head of Centre at Low Mill Outdoor Centre. He is a parish councillor and a member of the Institute for Outdoor Learning. Philip is also a member of the National Caving Association and attends the Northern Panel of the Local Cave Leaders Training and Assessment Scheme. His interests include caving, outdoor learning, mountaineering, climbing, kayaking, mountain-biking and access for people with disabilities.
Area of Representation:
Outdoor education and recreation (especially caving and climbing).
