Dartmoor car park fees to rise as National Park approves new charges for 2026

Members of the Dartmoor National Park Authority have agreed to a 3.8 per cent increase in car parking fees on Dartmoor.

This will mean a 20p rise for 24-hour parking at Princetown, Haytor upper and lower car parks, Postbridge, Meldon and Lydford. 

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The half-day (three-hour) charge will go up by 10p, £5.80 for a full day and £3.50 for a half day. 

Blue badge holders will pay £3.50, up from £3.40, while coaches and minibuses will be charged £11.60, up from £11.20.

The new charges will come into effect after the statutory advertising period, usually 21 days.

Toilets are being reopened in the Lydford car park after the national park took over management last year, and EV charging points have now been installed.

The charge for pre-application planning advice, reintroduced in June 2024, will increase by 3.2 per cent in line with the government pay award. 

Fees for advice on one to two residential dwellings will rise from £540 to £557, and advice for schemes of 31-149 homes will go from £864 to £892.

Meeting room hire will be £150 for half a day and £300 for a full day.

The authority is also introducing fees to cover the cost of monitoring and enforcing biodiversity plans, which it says have become a significant demand on resources.

Other fees and charges, including filming on DNPA land, will remain unchanged.

The national park authority expects to bring in £345,783 in income by the end of this financial year from charges, which it uses to maintain infrastructure that supports public access.

At Friday’s meeting, one member questioned why DNPA was not maximising income from film companies. 

This year, two new productions have been filmed on the moor, Sense and Sensibility and Robert Eggers’ historical thriller Werwulf, along with the new Harry Potter TV series.

Filming on DNPA land is charged at £2,500 plus VAT per day, with drama series charged £500 plus VAT per day. 

These fees cover officer time and expertise in communication, culture, heritage and ecology.

Members were told that only 2.4 per cent of the national park is actually owned by DNPA, though the authority is exploring ways to promote Dartmoor as a filming destination with Screen Devon.

Higher charges are applied when film crews take over facilities such as car parks.

Film productions also boost the local economy, with cast and crew spending money on accommodation and food.

DNPA member Sally Morgan added that the benefits are not always purely financial: “One company filled in all the potholes along an entire road,” she said.