New Dartmoor boss says job is a dream come true

'I am delighted to be here, and I see huge opportunities'

The new man given the job of leading the guardians of Dartmoor has told colleagues: “It’s a dream come true.”

And Tom Surrey, the new chief executive of the Dartmoor National Park Authority, said that as only the fourth person to occupy the role he was ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’.

Mr Surrey told his first authority meeting he had grown up on the moors and was returning after more than 20 years in the Civil Service. He has spent the past five years as a director of adult social care with the NHS and has previously held senior roles leading policy, strategy and legislation for National Parks and forestry as well as positions in housing, local government and the Cabinet Office.

He took over the role from Dr Kevin Bishop in March.

He told authority members: “The more power and voice that can be given to local people and communities, the better outcomes we can deliver, and there is no more special community than this one.”

He said he was glad to be starting in his role at the same time as the national park celebrated its 75th anniversary.

“To me, national parks are a fundamental part of the infrastructure of this country,” he said. “They should be held in the same esteem as we hold our National Health Service.”

He said that like the rest of the world, the national park was facing ‘troubling’ times, and would have to adapt to factors such as climate change and an ageing population. There would, he said, be ever-increasing development around the fringes of the national park.

“It is critical that we work together,” he added. “For the 34,000 people who live and work on Dartmoor and our partners around the moor.

“There are over three million visitors to this wonderful place every year, and they feel just as strongly about it as those who live here.

“I am delighted to be here, and I see huge opportunities for us going forward.”