Foord opposes Conservative move to hinge ‘enhanced’ Dartmoor access on incentives for landowners
The Conservative motion, brought forward by Totnes MP Anthony Mangnall, comes in the wake of news that Dartmoor National Park Authority has been granted the right to appeal an earlier High Court ruling – which brought people’s long-assumed right to wild camp freely on Dartmoor into question.
Speaking in opposition to the Bill, Richard Foord MP highlighted that 15 landowners own nearly half of the land on Dartmoor - including the Duchy of Cornwall - with only 1.4% of the land being directly owned by the Dartmoor National Park Authority, and 37% being designated as Common land.
Richard Foord said that major landowners like South West Water, who own over 5,000 acres of land on Dartmoor, should not be given further rewards. The water firm was given one-star rating from the Environment Agency last year after allowing thousands of hours of sewage to pollute local rivers and beaches.
The Lib Dem MP also criticised the notion that, while paying for the Dartmoor National Park Authority to help enhance the land, people might also see their ability to access the park restricted – citing the huge health benefits of being able to access nature.
The Government chose not to challenge the proposal and allowed the Bill to advance. This means it will have the chance to come back to Parliament for further debate in November.
Speaking after the debate, Richard Foord MP said:
“Dartmoor National Park Authority is already facing a huge strain on their finances due to underfunding by the Conservatives and is facing a shortfall of hundreds of thousands of pounds over the next couple of years. They have been hung out to dry by this Government and forced to crowdfund for an appeal to protect our right to respectfully wild camp on Dartmoor.
“Our National Parks are meant to be the pride of our countryside; accessible for the public to respectfully access and enjoy. Yet Conservative Ministers seem not to care for the huge health benefits that Dartmoor offers so many people in Devon and beyond.
“It’s not right that a small handful of wealthy landowners should further benefit from their privileged position and receive extra handouts from this Government in exchange for allowing us to access spaces created and protected specifically for us.
“I will continue to fight to protect our national parks, get them the funding they need, and oppose any efforts to further restrict our right to enjoy the rugged beauty of Dartmoor.”
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