A NEW £850,000 visitor and study centre for the Peak District's internationally- important moorlands will take shape in Edale this summer.

The Peak District National Park Authority's planning committee has supported plans to demolish the existing 1960s-built Fieldhead visitor centre and replace it with a modern information and research centre, plus a community-room available to villagers.

The innovative circular Moorlands Centre, built of local stone and glass with a natural-planted roof, will act as a base for the £4.7m Moors for the Future project, a five-year drive to restore one of Brit- ain's rarest wildlife habitats - moorland and blanket bog, found in only four places in the world.

The building will provide a base for moorland research and provide information for visitors and ramblers who visit Edale, the gateway to the Pennine Way.

Moors for the Future partnership chair Lynn Crowe said: "We want everyone to understand why this area - with its rare habitat, outstanding wildlife and cultural heritage - is so important.

"The aim of the new Moorlands Centre is to act as an information hub for local people, visitors, volunteers and researchers alike."