King Charles and Prince William could be dragged into a bitter fight over £13m of taxpayer funds paid over the past decade for nature restoration on Dartmoor national park.
The funds have partly been paid to tenants farming land in the national park that is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall, a land and property estate controlled by the heir to the throne.
The subsidies were intended to help preserve and restore Dartmoor as an important national wildlife ecosystem. Yet despite the government funding little improvement has been seen.
Last month the government regulator, Natural England, stepped in and threatened to stop the subsidy payments unless farmers significantly reduced livestock grazing, a key contributor to the degradation of the land. This controversial move caused a local and parliamentary backlash, which has thrown into question the regulator’s powers.
Some have criticised the duchy, suggesting that Prince William, and previously the king, as the landowners are ultimately responsible.
The duchy has developed a plan with farmers to help improve the land and recently committed £700,000 to land restoration. But the area is failing on virtually every government environmental measure.
Much of Dartmoor, and in particular the areas owned by the duchy are classed as a site of special scientific interest (SSSI). These special areas are designated because they are nationally important for wildlife, and in need of protection. Yet despite 10 years of environmental subsidies much of the land is still in poor condition, according to the latest surveys by Natural England, the most recent of which were undertaken in 2019. Some date back to 2011.
Most worryingly, peat bogs on the SSSIs are in terrible condition. These bogs are a significant store of carbon in the UK as well as being invaluable for wildlife.
Much of the damage to the environment has been put down to increased grazing. Though grazing is a traditional part of life on Dartmoor, in recent years there has been an increase in animals stocked on the land, stripping vegetation from the peat bogs which cover the national park, according to Natural England.
Wes Smyth, Natural England’s area manager for Dartmoor, said landowners who did not improve the areas they looked after, would cease to get government funding unless they changed their ways.
He said: “It’s become clear over the recent years that the relationship between farming, nature and other impacts like climate change are not in balance and nature is declining in a way that may jeopardise the huge value that Dartmoor brings to local communities and visitors.
“Despite the protection these designations provided, and the huge investment of public money in agri-environment schemes, wildlife has declined. Breeding populations of golden plover, red grouse and ring ouzels have now gone or are on the verge of being lost.
“Dartmoor’s precious peatlands, its blanket bogs on the highest ground and mires in the valley bottoms are still suffering from historic management affecting their ability to store carbon and regulate river flows.”
The lack of improvement led Natural England to write to tenant farmers saying subsidy payments would be stopped unless they reduced their livestock on Dartmoor. At stake is more than £1.3m paid annually to farmers to improve the condition of peatland and plants as well as increase numbers of rare birds on the SSSI.
As the largest landowner Prince William could find himself dragged into the debate over these payments. Some of the farmers who received letters are tenants of the duchy.
Campaigners believe that it is ultimately the responsibility of the duchy to ensure tenant farmers are deploying farming methods that give the land the best chance to recover.
A spokesperson for the Duchy of Cornwall said: “As a responsible landowner who prioritises sustainability, we work closely with our partners on Dartmoor – particularly our tenants, the wider farming community, conservation groups, Dartmoor National Park Authority and Natural England – on the management and condition of the commons.”
Environmental campaigner and Devon resident Guy Shrubsole said: “King Charles and Prince William have both spoken passionately about environmental issues for decades, but their rhetoric hasn’t always been matched by action when it comes to their Duchy of Cornwall landholdings. Large swathes of duchy land on Dartmoor have the right climate for temperate rainforest, but only tiny fragments now remain. Prince William has supported the restoration of temperate rainforest in the Pacific north-west – let’s hope he now does so on his own estate.”
Tom Usher, of the Dartmoor Preservation Association, added: “The Duchy of Cornwall are in a unique position to show leadership by properly managing Dartmoor’s degraded SSSIs. They have a duty to the land they claim to care for and the people that live and work there.
“To fix it the duchy needs to have tightly and regularly monitored outcomes that are key to success. The collaborative approach of the last decade with farmers and those that work the land should continue and now also involve local community groups.”
