Defra confirms extra cash for Dartmoor

Defra have confirmed that Dartmoor National Park Authority will receive a one-off additional grant of £440,000.

Pamela Woods, Chair, Dartmoor National Park Authority said:"This is very welcome news and provides us with the money we need to maintain core services for the immediate future.  Our top priority for this money will be to keep the National Park Visitor Centre at Princetown open.

“I would like to thank our local MPs who assisted in making our case to the Secretary of State and Ministers.  I would also like to express my gratitude to West Devon Borough Council who have agreed to contribute some money to help keep the Princetown Visitor Centre open.

“Whilst this is good news, we need to remember that this is, in effect, a ‘sticking plaster’. A one-off payment does not solve the underlying problem of how to sustain core services in the face of 12 years of real-terms cuts.  

“We hope this announcement will prompt thinking about the resources required to deliver the Government’s ambition to make our National Parks better for people and nature, an ambition we share. A small investment in core funding for our most loved landscapes has the potential to deliver so much for nature, people and place.”