Conserve and Enhance Natural Beauty

What does success look like?

Dartmoor’s dynamic natural beauty, heritage and valued landscape character will be embraced, maintained and enhanced.

How will this be achieved?

Dartmoor’s stakeholders will conserve natural beauty by maintaining and enhancing:

The open moorland network of upland habitats, whilst encouraging natural woodland regeneration and expansion where appropriate:

  • From 2022 work with landowners, commoners, partners and other agencies to identify suitable areas of upland valley that will accommodate natural woodland regeneration and look at processes that will ensure a positive outcome.
  • By 2026 facilitate and fund the establishment of at least 500 ha of new valley native broadleaf woodland
  • By 2026 maintain and manage existing and new valley native broadleaf woodland
  • By 2026 work with landowners and land managers to ensure there are suitable stocking levels to maintain and enhance the open nature rich moorland landscapes.

Maintaining the small-scale pastoral landscape by enhancing boundaries of historic field systems:

  • From 2022 continue to work with landowners to maintain and enhance traditional field boundaries by encouraging the use of appropriate management techniques
  • By 2026 replace lost hedgerows to enhance the enclosed historic landscape
  • From 2022 establish skilled volunteer groups to help expand traditional walling and hedgerow skills

Restoring treed and wooded landscapes lost through Ash Die Back and other tree diseases:

  • From 2022 continue to establish opportunities to work with landowners, agencies and partners to replace tree and woodland cover lost through Ash Die Back and other pest and diseases.
  • From 2022 continue to encourage landowners to adopt a 3/2/1 approach to replacing trees lost to Ash Die Back (one replacement for a small tree, two for a medium sized tree and three for a large tree).
  • By 2024 work with partners to identify land that is suitable for woodland creation and that will maintain and enhance the character of Dartmoor’s landscape.

And through Local Plan policies and development management, ensuring that Dartmoor’s natural beauty and distinctive landscape character is maintained and enhanced

  • From 2022 ensure the National Park Authority maintains an up-to-date Landscape Character Assessment to help understand Dartmoor’s landscape.