Updated: 31st July 2023
Dartmoor's wild camping ban has been lifted following a successful appeal by the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) and Open Spaces Society, which argued that backpack camping was an ancient tradition and should be allowed.
On Monday 31 July, the appeals court panel which included Lord Justice Underhill, Lord Justice Newey and Sir Geoffrey Vos, overturned the decision by Sir Julian Flaux and ruled that wild camping counted as an open-air recreation and should be allowed.
In the appeal, the panel stated: "Open-air recreation includes wild camping, although such an activity must be conducted in strict accordance with the applicable byelaws, which were made by the Authority and confirmed by the Home Secretary in October 1989 (the Byelaws)."
In January Dartmoor National Park Authority decided to appeal the recent High Court judgement that determined wild camping in the national park is not a legal right.
On 13 January, Sir Julian Flaux ruled that the Dartmoor Commons Act of 1985 contained no provision to camp overnight and that any such camping “requires the consent of the landowner”.
The decision provoked a public outcry, with a large protest held on Stall Moor on the Blachford Estate, owned by Alexander and Diana Darwall, the landowners who brought the case.
Dartmoor National Park Authority have now confirmed that it will seek permission to appeal the decision. Chief executive Kevin Bishop said:
“Our National Parks are largely owned by private individuals, and we respect their rights. However, our National Parks were designated by Parliament for their national importance. They have twin purposes: to protect and conserve and to provide opportunities for all parts of society to responsibly enjoy them.
“When the legislation to establish National Parks was introduced it was described as a people’s charter - a people’s charter for the open air, for the hikers and the ramblers, for everyone who lives to get out into the open air and enjoy the countryside. The High Court judgment potentially fetters that charter and seems contrary to the wishes of Parliament.
“While we await determination of the application to appeal, and any subsequent appeal, we remain committed to working in partnership with landowners and other partners to ensure the new permissive system is successful.”
Meanwhile, the shadow environment secretary Jim McMahon has said that a Labour government would reverse the Dartmoor wild camping ban by passing a right-to-roam act.
According to a report in The Guardian, the party is drawing up a bill to allow wild camping in national parks and to expand public access to woodlands and waterways.
“There are still huge parts of England and Wales that are off limits when it comes to the right to access, whether that’s woodlands, cliffs, rivers, where the rights that we are afforded in open countryside aren’t then mirrored in those places. That needs to change,” McMahon told The Guardian. He added that the fact that the public has an automatic right to canoe or swim on only 4% of waterways was ‘a scandal’.
“A Labour government would clean up the UK’s waterways for all to enjoy – if people don’t have a stake in their environment, they won’t fight to protect it.”
The National Farmers Union, in response, argues that the public has considerable access to nature already in the form of an extensive footpath network.
NFU environment forum chair Richard Bramley said: “The great British countryside is more accessible than ever before with over 200,000km of footpaths, bridleways and greenways.
“This allows the public to value and appreciate the farmed landscapes, helps with wellbeing and connects people with rural areas that they may never have visited before.
“Many popular rural tourist spots are working farmland, where farmers are producing food and working hard to maintain footpaths and public rights of way, so visitors can enjoy our beautiful countryside. We encourage everyone to observe the Countryside Code and not to cross over into damaging private property, food crops or disturbing livestock.
“Rather than a blanket re-designation for public access, the government should focus on encouraging the use of and modernising our existing extensive network of footpaths and raising awareness with the public of the access rights that already exist.”
