The Dartmoor Preservation Association responds to the National Park Authority decision to appeal the wild camping ban

Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) is seeking leave to appeal the High Court’s wild camping ruling, which effectively overturned the right to wild camp across Dartmoor.

The original ruling was met with public outcry as many people saw their right to backpack camp responsibly across the Dartmoor, the last place in England where it was still legal, disappear seemingly overnight. The Dartmoor Preservation Association (DPA) has since repeatedly urged the DNPA to seek leave to appeal the ruling, and today the decision was made to pursue the case through the Court of Appeals.

DPA Chief Executive, Tom Usher, says,

“We are very pleased to see that the DNPA has decided to seek leave to appeal this decision. We believe that the DNPA has a strong case, we and many others have been vocal in our commitment to supporting them in an appeal. We will continue to offer as much assistance as possible as their fight continues.

We will support in any way we can. One way might be as a focus of donations, we will immediately investigate and subject to proper advice, the DPA Trustees would be minded to support DNPA as a focus and holder of donations for an appeal. We will publish specific details on this in the coming days.”

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