New funding supports Project Facilitator role on Dartmoor

We are pleased to acknowledge the support of Dartmoor National Park Authority, which has awarded a grant of £78,000 toward the work of the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group (DLUMG). This funding allows the Foundation for Common Land to second our colleague Tamsin Thomas as DLUMG Project Facilitator for three days a week.

Tamsin has been central to the Our Upland Commons Project, a 4.5-year, £3 million, 25-partner initiative that focused on securing the future of upland commons in Dartmoor, the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Shropshire Hills. She now brings this experience to the DLUMG.

The DLUMG is an independently chaired advisory group that fosters collaboration and coordinated action across Dartmoor’s unique landscape. It brings together key stakeholders to drive forward positive land management practices that deliver for nature, climate resilience, viable farming, and a range of other public benefits. 

The Group was established following the 2023 Fursdon Review into the management of protected sites on Dartmoor. The Chairman reports directly to Government Ministers via Defra, and the Group is responsible for delivering actions in relation to twenty five of the Fursdon Review recommendations adopted by Government.

The DLUMG’s work is organised into five interconnected areas: the creation of a Multi-Functional Land Use Framework for the whole National Park; a data observatory providing a one-stop shop for relevant information to inform management decisions; a nature enhancement group; a group looking at grazing practice and farm viability; and communications and stakeholder engagement, which cuts across all of these. 

The Land Use Framework is the uniting piece of work that brings together the other streams. Dartmoor is at the forefront in this space, helping to shape Defra’s national thinking. Recent discussions with the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission, Defra, Dartmoor National Park Authority and Devon County Council explored how best to align efforts and work collaboratively.

Over the coming months, the Group will hold workstream meetings and stakeholder workshops to co-create the Land Use Framework in a way that unites different objectives and values local knowledge. This will include building on existing work, such as Landscape Recovery and Molinia management. The Group will also spend more time out on the ground, talking directly with those who live and work on Dartmoor.

For more information on the DLUMG, please visit www.dlumg.org.uk

Contact Tamsin:

07852 756997
Tamsin@foundationforcommonland.org.uk