Policy paper

Independent Review of Protected Site Management on Dartmoor: terms of reference

Published 9 August 2023

Applies to England

This paper sets out the terms of reference for the Independent Review of Protected Site Management on Dartmoor (the review).

1. Remit

The government is committed to supporting farmers and those living and working on Dartmoor to join together with the appropriate statutory bodies to safeguard and improve its long-term management, especially the areas with greatest environmental value.

The review will be led by an independent chair, David Fursdon, who will be responsible for producing the final report and recommendations with advice and input from a panel of expert advisers (the panel).

The panel will work with local farmers, statutory bodies and stakeholders and will draw on the best available evidence to provide an independent perspective on the management of the protected sites on the moor.

2. Scope

The outline scope of the review will include:

• considering recent trends in numbers and types of grazing animals on Dartmoor and the influence that this has had on its ecology
• reviewing the existing ecological evidence base to consider the current management of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) across Dartmoor to determine why some sites are seeing improvements and others are not, and how lessons might be applied across all sites on Dartmoor
• considering any lessons to be learned from previous approaches on Dartmoor or similar situations elsewhere in the UK by examining comparable case studies, considering the different contributing factors in each case
• making recommendations as to the most effective grazing and management regime or regimes to deliver improvements on the protected sites across Dartmoor, so they can maintain or achieve favourable condition whilst also contributing to the long-term, sustainable delivery of other priorities, such as agricultural production, public access and the preservation of cultural and natural heritage
• advising what’s needed to support the delivery of an effective grazing regime, consistent with meeting existing legally binding targets and statutory requirements
• proposing options focusing on those sites that are currently not recovering or in favourable condition

More specifically, the review may consider:

• establishing the parameters for a grazing and hydrological restoration regime that will deliver SSSI favourable condition.
• recognising the risk of undesirable grass species (Molinia) and scrub predominating if grazing is reduced too far and the attendant fire risk associated with this, the co-existence of over-grazed and under-grazed areas on Dartmoor and the need to maintain overall grazing at an appropriate level to manage these risks
• the appropriate mix and management of livestock required to graze Dartmoor, including the role that should be played by rare or traditional (or both) breeds and the minimum population requirements to secure the genetic diversity of the Dartmoor Hill pony population
• identifying the adaptions required to adjust successfully to climate change on Dartmoor and any associated implications for the achievement of favourable condition on particular sites
• recognising the important roles that hill farming plays on Dartmoor in contributing to community cohesion and food production
• presenting agro-economic models that would enable farm businesses to deliver SSSI favourable condition, identifying and proposing the investment, innovation or incentives, or all of these, needed to support farmers in doing so
• exploring how achieving SSSI favourable condition can be combined with the attainment of other desirable public outcomes – maintaining and improving biodiversity, managing appropriate public access, preserving Dartmoor’s rich historical and cultural environment and protecting its archaeology

Out of scope

The scope will not include:

• commissioning primary ecological data collection
• providing recommendations on the existing legal framework including, but not limited to, the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006, the Environment Act 2020 and Agriculture Act 2020
• considering any changes to existing Commons legislation
• commenting on landlord-tenant relationships on Dartmoor and those between Commons rights holders and Commons owners, which are a matter for negotiation between the parties

The review will engage with farmers, land managers and commoners in order to ensure those individuals’ views and experience are understood in the review’s work.

3. Governance and operation

The independent chair of the review will be David Fursdon, an experienced industry figure based in Devon. The panel members will provide expert advice to the review.

The chair will seek advice from panel member to formulate his own impartial recommendations.

4. Timeline

The first meeting of the panel will be held in early August 2023.

The review will:

• report in autumn 2023
• help inform the environmental schemes and protected site management across Dartmoor

5. Outputs

The review will report to ministers and the government will publish the report.

6. Expertise required on the panel

Advisory panel members will be drawn from experts including those with technical knowledge of:

• ecology of upland ecosystems
• the impact of different management and agricultural practices on upland ecosystems including social, economic or cultural factors (or all of these)

7. Recruitment

Due to time constraints and the urgent need to start the review, there will be direct recruitment of advisory panel members into the group based on relevant technical expertise and experience.

The panel members include:

• Cicely Hunt – land agent and agricultural grants specialist, and member of the Independent Agricultural Appeals Panel for the Rural Payments Agency (RPA)

• William Cockbain – Cumbrian hill farmer and former Chair of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) Uplands Panel

• Jeremy Moody – Secretary of the Central Association of Agricultural Valuers (CAAV), whose members engage in a wide variety of rural, agricultural and conservation work across the UK

• Professor Matt Lobley – Professor of Rural Resource Management and Director of the Centre for Rural Policy Research at the University of Exeter

• Professor Charles Tyler – Professor of Environmental Biology at the University of Exeter

• Professor Jane K Hill – Research Scientist for Resilient Ecosystems at the University of York

• Sue Everett – highly experienced ecologist and land management adviser, Sue is chair of the Countryside Regeneration Trust and former chair of the British Association of Nature Conservationists

• Dr Lisa Norton – agro-ecologist at the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Lancaster Environment Centre

8. Conflicts of interest

Members will be asked to declare conflicts of interest before the meeting via email to the secretariat. If a conflict of interest becomes apparent during the meeting, members must inform the chair.

9. Conduct

Members must not disclose any information which is confidential in nature, or which is provided in confidence, without authority. This duty continues to apply after the group has stood down.

Unauthorised disclosure of any information gained could result in membership being terminated early or even criminal prosecution.

10. Remuneration

Claiming remuneration and travel expenses (when applicable) for work is optional for external members. Current remuneration rates along with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) policy on claiming travel expenses will be shared with members in advance of their appointment.