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We are delighted to have been granted permission to intervene in the Dartmoor backpack-camping case.
The society intervened in support of the Dartmoor National Park Authority in the Court of Appeal and was relieved when the court ruled that the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985 gave the public the right to camp on nearly all the Dartmoor commons. However, the landowners, Alexander and Diana Darwall appealed against this and the matter will be heard in the Supreme Court on 8 October.
We’re pleased to have the opportunity to intervene in such a vital fight for Dartmoor’s common land. Photo: Open Spaces Society
The Darwalls, who own Stall Moor common on south-west Dartmoor, argued that the right granted to the public on foot and horseback on the Dartmoor commons, for the purpose of open-air recreation, did not include the right to camp (section 10 of the 1985 Act). In the Court of Appeal it was held that the wording of section 10 ‘confers on members of the public the right to rest or sleep on the Dartmoor commons whether by day or night and whether in a tent or otherwise’.
Says Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society: ‘We are pleased that we can again give practical support to the Dartmoor National Park Authority in this vital fight. It could have far-reaching implications as it will influence the attitude of other landowners.’