DESPITE facing its biggest funding cut in years, Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) has come out of 2024/25 with a cash surplus and increased reserves.

A financial report presented to the authority ‘s audit and governance committee this week shows a surplus of £8,500 and that reserves earmarked for future projects increasing by £54,000.

DNPA chief executive Kevin Bishop said the organisation is in a ‘robust financial position’ and had ‘healthy reserves’ totalling more than £3.6 million.

He said it had been helped by the Supreme Court judgement which allowed wild camping to continue on Dartmoor.

The court ruled that multi-millionaire landowner Alexander Darwell was wrong to ban such camping on his land and he is expected to have to pay for the park’s legal costs, which are understood to run into millions of pounds.

DNPA had also managed to successfully bid for capital grant funding of £2.4 million which ‘exceeded expectations’ and staff cost savings of more than £320,000 had made after pay increases being less than budgeted.

The major expense of repairs at Princetown Visitor Centre, which it is planning to close later this year to save costs, and excavation at Cut Hill, where archaeologists discovered an Early Bronze Age cist or stone-built box used to bury bodies in prehistoric times, was met by savings with no need for reserves to be used.

But members were warned of the “long battle ahead” for future funding of the park which is facing an eight per cent cut in its day-to-day spending budget from the government, which could amount to 10 per cent once employers’ National Insurance is included.

Chairperson Pamela Woods said a comprehensive spending review is under way but she suspected that life was going to be “very tough” across the protected landscape scene.

‘I wish someone from Defra were listening… we have a central issue here that we all know about….It is how much do you value your national landscapes, how much do you value what national parks and others have to offer?’

She said Defra is not prepared to put its money where its mouth is.

‘We have to get creative I know and think positive but it is going to be difficult.’

Workforce planning and the potential reduction in the national park’s grant have been flagged up as the two “severe risks” to DNPA.

Dr Bishop outlined how the challenges of retaining staff on fixed-term contracts and reduced funding over the past 15 years means salaries are not as high as other local authorities pay and are well below the private sector.

He said stories in the press about funding being cut means staff are worried about security of their contracts.

But he added that DNPA provides a supportive environment and offers hybrid and flexible working.

‘We are still a robust organisation which delivers projects that make the national park better for people, nature, climate and heritage so if you are looking at growing your career this is really good organisation to work for.

‘We should not talk ourselves down, we should talk ourselves up in terms of what we do and present a robust case to Defra.

‘Our staff work hard, they are passionate about what they do and that, I think, is our distinguishing factor and why a lot of our staff do stay a long time.’

DNPA member Peter Harper said: ‘I used to have a company in a cut-throat industry where people were poached left, right and centre, but what we have done here is create that culture where people want to work and stay.

‘Dartmoor National Park is a family and everybody supports everybody else and there is a lot to say for that in this day and age.’

DNPA employs around 90 staff in ecology, archaeology, historic buildings, trees, recreation and access, land management, visitor services and engagement as well as rangers, conservation works, planners, project officers, finance, HR, ICT, communications and business support staff.