'Second win' for Dartmoor as major public donations fund access projects

More than £130,000 of public donations are to be used on making Dartmoor more accessible after a legal battle to allow wild camping was won earlier this year.

The money was raised for legal fees, but the successful outcome means Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) can claim 60 to 90 per cent of those costs.

DNPA chief executive Dr Kevin Bishop called it a “second win” for the park at an authority meeting last week, the first since the Supreme Court result.

Dartmoor Preservation Association launched a fundraising appeal after the costs involved in the three hearings were estimated at £400,000.

But judges unanimously rejected an appeal by landowners Alexander and Diana Darwall in the Supreme Court in May, who said people should not be able to camp without permission from landowners.

The legal battle began in 2022 when the Darwalls challenged the right to wild camp on their 4,000-acre estate near Cornwood.

The Court of Appeal overturned the High Court ruling in July 2023, restoring the right to wild camp, and the Darwalls appealed to the Supreme Court.

Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA) wanted to see “a rights-based not a permission-based system on Dartmoor” and said if DNPA lost the appeal in court, it would cover whatever their costs were up to the amount of the donated funds.

Dr Bishop called the result a “significant and welcome win” and said the money raised by the public would now go into access and outreach projects, in line with the wishes of the DPA.

He said a meeting with DPA this Thursday would determine how the money would be spent, but he anticipated that some would go on hiring an outreach ranger to work with disadvantaged young people and to support the ‘Nights Under The Stars’ project giving young carers the chance to stay on a Dartmoor farm.

“To me this constitutes a second win,” he said. “It’s a second win for Dartmoor and those who want to access the moor responsibly,” he said. “People have a legal right to backpack camp as long as they follow the code of conduct and camp according to the map, which are both on the website.”

Judges ruled that the public shall have a right of access to the Dartmoor commons on foot and horseback for the purpose of open-air recreation, which includes camping.

Newly elected chairman of DNPA Will Dracup thanked Dr Bishop and all staff for their work throughout that legal process.

“It was a huge amount of work and it’s superb to come out of the other end with such a fantastic result so thank you very much,” he said.