Dartmoor National Park Authority

The National Park Authority and Ten Tors

To understand the National Park Authority’s position on any issue including Ten Tors one needs to be aware of:

The statutory purposes of the National Parks as stated in the Environment Act, 1995.

The First Purpose

• to conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife and cultural heritage of the National Parks.

The Second Purpose

• to promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the National Parks by the public.

The National Park Authorities also have a duty to seek to foster the economic and social well-being of local communities within the National Parks in pursuing these purposes.

If there is an irreconcilable conflict between the NPA’s work to achieve the first purpose to conserve the area and the second purpose to promote the public’s enjoyment of the area then the first purpose takes priority.

The National Park Authority (NPA) recognises the significant role that Ten Tors plays in introducing so many young people to the joys of the great outdoors and to the delights of Dartmoor. Many of these young people will go on to take an active interest in the National Parks and outdoor activities, so the event fits in well with the second purpose.

However the training time and the event itself stretches across the sensitive period of winter and spring/early summer. The sheer numbers of people involved in activity on some of the remotest parts of the National Park may conflict with conserving the natural beauty and wildlife as mentioned in the first purpose.

The NPA is working together with many people including the Ministry of Defence, RSPB, Natural England, Dartmoor commoners, landowners and recreational user groups to conserve Dartmoor’s moorland birds. In relation to this, the two major concerns for the National Park Authority are: the scale of the event and the time of year that the training and event take place.

Over many years a good understanding has been developed between the NPA and the Ten Tors organisers allowing significant progress to be made towards minimising the potential environmental impact of the event. The size of the event is limited and a retiming of both the event and the training period, which would be welcomed by both environmental interests and commoners and graziers remains under periodic review.

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Page updated 20 April 2009