29-585: The Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) is a national park authority in England, legally responsible for Dartmoor in Devon . It came into existence in its present form in 1997, being preceded by a committee of Devon County Council (from 1951 to March 1974) and the Dartmoor National Park Committee from 1 April 1974. Dartmoor , in the county of Devon , is 368 square miles (950 km) in area. It
58-563: A fully independent "freestanding local authority" from 1 April 1997. Like the other twelve National Park Authorities in England and Wales, the DNPA has two "statutory purposes" which it must pursue. These are: While upholding these statutory purposes it is also required to meet a socio-economic duty: If conflict arises between the two statutory purposes, the Act provides that the first purpose, that of conservation, must take precedence. This enshrines in law
87-457: A single district, but have non-metropolitan county councils with no district council. In practice, these function in the same way as other unitary authorities. Berkshire is unusual, being the only non-metropolitan county, with no county council, that has more than one unitary authority district within it, each of which is not a county. The 32 London boroughs are sub-divisions of Greater London . They were established in 1965. Between 1965 and 1986
116-638: A two-tier structure of government existed in Greater London and the boroughs shared power with the Greater London Council (GLC). When the GLC was abolished in 1986 they gained similar status to the unitary authorities. In 2000 the Greater London Authority was established and a two-tier structure was restored, albeit with a change to the balance of powers and responsibilities. Each London borough
145-609: Is not uniform, there are currently four principal types of district-level subdivision. There are a total of 296 districts made up of 36 metropolitan boroughs , 32 London boroughs , 164 two-tier non-metropolitan districts and 62 unitary authorities , as well as the City of London and the Isles of Scilly which are also districts but do not correspond to any of these other categories. Some districts are styled as cities , boroughs or royal boroughs ; these are purely honorific titles and do not alter
174-499: The County of London . The setting-down of the current structure of districts in England began in 1965, when Greater London and its 32 London boroughs were created. They are the oldest type of district still in use. In 1974, metropolitan counties and non-metropolitan counties (also known as " shire counties ") were created across the rest of England and were split into metropolitan districts and non-metropolitan districts . The status of
203-527: The Environment Act 1995 . This article about an organisation in the United Kingdom is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Districts of England The districts of England (officially, local authority districts , abbreviated LADs ) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government . As the structure of local government in England
232-607: The Poor Law . These areas were later used for census registration and as the basis for sanitary provision . In 1894, based on these earlier subdivisions, the Local Government Act 1894 created urban districts and rural districts as sub-divisions of administrative counties , which had been created in 1889. At the same time, parish-level local government administration was transferred to civil parishes . Another reform in 1900 created 28 metropolitan boroughs as sub-divisions of
261-516: The Sandford Principle which was first set down in 1974. To update its earlier management plans, the Authority publishes a strategic plan, known as The National Park Management Plan, supplemented by Local Plans or a Local Development Framework. It also publishes a bi-annual free newspaper known as The Dartmoor Guide and a number of factsheets on a range of relevant topics. Its budget for 2011/12
290-455: The London boroughs and metropolitan districts changed in 1986, when they absorbed the functions and some of the powers of the metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council , which were abolished. Since 2000, powers are again shared (on a different basis) with the Greater London Authority . During the 1990s a further kind of district was created, the unitary authority , which combined
319-567: The Park are directly appointed by the Secretary of State to represent the national interest. The absence of locally elected representatives on the board has been a source of complaint against the DNPA. The Authority now owns a total of 3,587 acres (1,452 hectares) of the Park, the largest areas after Haytor Down and Holne Moor being 230 acres (93 hectares) at Plasterdown and 198 acres (80 hectares) at Dendles Wood . It operates three information centres within
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#1732844083798348-692: The Park: the High Moorland Visitor Centre in Princetown (opened in 1993) and information centres at Postbridge and Haytor . Since 1979 its headquarters have been just outside the National Park boundary, at Parke in the town of Bovey Tracey . To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the designation of Dartmoor as a national park, in 2001 the DNPA planned a number of initiatives. These included "Moor Memories", an oral history project which aimed to capture
377-590: The committee included extensions of china clay workings and coniferous plantations (which did not take place); the erection of a television transmitting mast at North Hessary Tor in 1953 (passed by the casting vote of the chairman); and proposals to construct three reservoirs , of which the Avon Dam Reservoir (mid-1950s) and the Meldon Reservoir (1972) were built, but one planned for the Swincombe Valley
406-435: The creation of single-tier unitary authorities in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s, their numbers were reduced to 164 by 2023. These single-tier non-metropolitan districts are responsible for running all local services in their areas, combining county and district functions. They were created in the mid-1990s, and often cover large towns and cities as this is deemed more efficient than a two-tier structure. In addition, some of
435-597: The following year, acquiring in the process the Lordship of the Manor of Holne. This acquisition means that the National Park Officer is also steward of the Manor and is thus responsible for administering the common land there, ensuring that a close relationship is maintained with the commoners on its 1,935 acres (783 hectares). The current National Park Authority owes its existence to the Environment Act 1995 which made it
464-573: The functions and status of county and district. Metropolitan boroughs are a subdivision of a metropolitan county . These are similar to unitary authorities, as the metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986. Most of the powers of the county councils were devolved to the districts but some services are run by joint boards and organisations. The districts typically have populations of 174,000 to 1.1 million. Non-metropolitan districts are second-tier authorities, which share power with county councils . They are subdivisions of shire counties and
493-644: The moor would be provided by an independent company from April 2012. National park authority A national park authority is a special term used in Great Britain for legal bodies charged with maintaining a national park of which, as of October 2021, there are ten in England, three in Wales and two in Scotland. The powers and duties of all such authorities are similar, but their work varies depending on where they are situated. National park authorities were set up by
522-479: The most common type of district. These districts typically have populations of 25,000 to 200,000. In this two-tier system, county councils are responsible for some local services, such as education, social services, and roads, while district councils run other services, such as waste collection, local planning, and council housing . The number of two-tier non-metropolitan districts (also known as shire districts ) has varied over time. Initially, there were 296; after
551-463: The plan were produced in 1983 and 1991. From the outset the DNPC decided that to encourage local landowners to manage their land for the public benefit, it should acquire land itself and use it to demonstrate good practices. To that end it bought the 1,040-acre (421-ha) Haytor Down when it came up for auction in 1974, followed by the purchase of a large part of Holne Moor in 1975 and the adjoining White Wood
580-543: The smaller counties such as Rutland , Herefordshire and the Isle of Wight are unitary authorities. There are a total of 62 unitary authorities, the latest ones introduced in 2023. Unitary authority areas are a type of non-metropolitan district; most are established as individual counties containing a single district, with a district council but no county council. Cornwall , Durham , the Isle of Wight , Northumberland , Shropshire and Wiltshire were established as counties with
609-440: The status of the district or the powers of their councils. All boroughs and cities (and a few districts) are led by a mayor who in most cases is a ceremonial figure elected by the district council, but—after local government reform—is occasionally a directly elected mayor who makes most of the policy decisions instead of the council. Before the establishment of districts in the 1890s, the basic unit of local government in England
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#1732844083798638-478: The summer seasons. The Local Government Act 1972 resulted in a major change in the governance of national parks. The Act established a National Park Committee for each park under the leadership of a named National Park Officer and 75% of each Committee's agreed annual budget was to be met from central funds. Dartmoor National Park Committee (DNPC) was the first in the country to appoint a leader, in October 1973, and by
667-502: The time the Committee became operational on 1 April 1974, many of the necessary officers had already been appointed. A condition of the 1972 Act was that each National Park Committee had to produce a management plan setting out its policies, implementation plans and proposed budget. The first Dartmoor National Park Plan was published in 1977; its stated aim was that the Park would be "as tidy, enjoyable and uncontentious as possible". Reviews of
696-549: The voices and memories of the people of Dartmoor, building on similar projects undertaken by the Authority and others in the 1980s and earlier. In 2003 DNPA started to subsidise moorland farmers to keep Dartmoor Ponies in an attempt to save the breed after new European legislation increased the costs of keeping them. In 2010 it submitted written evidence to Parliament about its concern for the long-term viability of hill farming on Dartmoor. The Authority announced in April 2004 that it
725-471: Was microchipping about 200 granite artifacts on the moor, including crosses , to deter theft and aid the recovery of any that might be stolen. In January 2012 the Authority stated that due to the loss of 28% of its budget in the Government's 2010 Spending Review , it intended to start charging for car-parking on its land during the summer season. The cuts also meant that its regular series of guided walks on
754-460: Was designated as one of the National Parks of England and Wales by statute in 1951; it has over 34,000 people living within its boundaries, and some 2.2 million people visited it in 2011. For the first 23 years of its existence, Dartmoor National Park was administered by a special committee of Devon County Council , the "Dartmoor Sub-Committee". During this time the major proposals dealt with by
783-431: Was rejected by Parliamentary Committee in 1970, "on the grounds of the technical unsuitability of the scheme, not because it was sited in a national park". In the 1960s three full-time park wardens were appointed, assisted by a number of voluntary wardens, whose job it was to "help and advise the public" and ensure compliance with local bye-laws. In addition, a temporary information centre was located at Two Bridges during
812-537: Was the parish, overseen by the parish church vestry committee . Vestries dealt with the administration of both parochial and secular governmental matters. Parishes were the successors of the manorial system and historically had been grouped into hundreds , which had exercised some supervising administrative function. However, these powers ebbed away as more and more civic and judicial powers were centred on county towns . From 1834 these parishes were grouped into Poor Law Unions , creating areas for administration of
841-556: Was £4.9m of which £4.5m came from Defra with the balance from income, grants, and fees and charges. As of 2012 the DNPA employs about 105 staff and is governed by twenty-two appointed members who are normally appointed for an initial period of up to 4 years. Six of these members are appointed by Devon County Council; six come from the three District Councils whose land includes parts of the moor; ten are Government appointees of whom four represent moorland parish council interests; and finally, six (usually local) people with an interest in
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