Dartmoor idea "as welcome as European Super League"

National Park could be merged

Plans for a National Landscape Service to replace Dartmoor National Park are as welcome as the European Super League, the leader of Teignbridge District Council has said.

As part of a wholesale change, the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) could bring the responsibilities of England’s protected landscapes together into a single organisation.

The controversial proposals appear to suggest that scrapping the national park authorities for Exmoor and Dartmoor and handing control to a national body in London.

Around 40 per cent of Dartmoor is in Teignbridge, and Devon’s Liberal Democrats have put motion to the next Devon County Council meeting calling on the government not to proceed with the plans or take any step which will remove local engagement and involvement in the national parks.

Cllr Alan Connett, leader of both Teignbridge District Council and the Liberal Democrat group at Devon County Council, said: ”Plans for a National Landscaping Service are about as welcome as the proposals for football’s European Super League and I hope they will be just as short lived.”

His motion, which goes before Devon County Council this Thursday, says: “Our precious National Parks, including Dartmoor and Exmoor, are loved by millions and used by many thousands of people.

“The Local Park Authorities comprise local representatives who know and serve the community and keep local oversight of Dartmoor National Park and Exmoor National Park, but a National Landscapes Service that effectively replaces individual National Park Authorities would not be a positive reform."

Cllr John Nutley, a councillor on Teignbridge and a member of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, added:” Dartmoor celebrates its 70th birthday as a national park this year and yet, it could also be the year the government effectively signs the death warrant to one of our country’s greatest natural and most enjoyed assets.

“Who hasn’t enjoyed letterboxing, walking, hiking or simply admiring the view over a picnic with the family. I am tremendously worried that a National Landscape Service will simply hollow out any local oversight and management of our precious Park and lead to anonymous people no-one knows in London deciding what’s best.”