PICA is an organisation covering the Peak District and surrounding areas. PICA is a constituent body of the Derbyshire Caving Association.
PICA’s remit is
- To disseminate safety and conservation information about the caves and mines that can be used for LCMLA and CIC led trips in our region
- To be a discussion forum for professional users of the underground environment
- To periodically organise the measuring of Radon levels within the cave and mine sites of our region and provide this information to our members
- To facilitate the inspection of a number of local disused mines and maintain a rolling programme of safety inspections and to provide details of approved ‘blue routes’ within those venues
- To liaise with the DCA about anchor installation for use by instructed groups and LCMLA training
Any organisation or individual using abandoned mines must by law be in possession of a valid mine inspection report. Not having this in place may invalidate insurance and qualifications. Using a membership organisation like PICA to obtain these safety reports significantly reduces the cost of inspections verses a company or individual engaging an inspector’s services directly. Being in possession of an out of date report is no guarantee of a mine’s safety as there are regular route changes in some mines. Membership of PICA also allows you to receive safety updates and route changes as they occur.
Any organisation or individual has an obligation under health and safety law to monitor/restrict its staff’s exposure to radon whilst at work. PICA has a data set of Radon measurements collected over a number of years that will allow a member to formulate a radon policy and to correctly administer its legal duties with regards to workplace health and safety.
Membership
Membership is open to individuals and organisations that operate in a professional (qualified but not necessarily paid) capacity in caves and abandoned mines. 2017 annual membership rates are divided into 4 categories:
- Voluntary Groups (e.g. Scouts) £30
- Freelance Instructors (individuals) £35
- Sole Traders (small organisations and sole traders who also use freelance staff) £55
- Organisations (any company with employed staff, e.g. outdoor centres) £150
Annual membership runs from April to March along with the tax year. New members joining between April and September will pay the full annual fee. New members joining between October and March will pay 50% of the annual fee. All memberships must be renewed each April.
PICA meets at least twice a year. An AGM is held in March followed immediately by an Ordinary meeting and a second Ordinary meeting is held in October or November.
PICA Officers are voted in each year at the AGM. PICA operates with a Chairperson, Secretary and Treasurer as well as a number of representatives from the different sectors of the outdoor industry.
The PICA constitution can be found here.
Contacts
For information requests and all general communication, please contact the PICA chairman. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For new joiners or existing membership enquiries and renewals, please contact the PICA secretary. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.