Exmoor National Park may sell land because of funds shortfall
PARTS of Exmoor National Park may be sold off as a result of a lack of grant funding to enable key land to be maintained.
The park receives £1m less funding than it did in 2010 and is set to have to make a further £500,000 in savings by 2025 to deal with a budget deficit.
The park’s chief executive said that “tough proposals will have to be considered”, including the possibility of land needing to be sold.
Sarah Bryan said: “I’ve worked in national parks for nearly 30 years and I’ve never seen it anywhere near as bad as this.
“The authority could also be forced to sell land that belongs to the nation such as woodland and moorland and to increase charges in certain areas. This would be a huge disadvantage to people on low incomes who have found landscapes like this invaluable, particularly in the last few years during Covid.”
Other cost-cutting measures proposed include redundancies and the closure of visitor centres and paths.