Thriving Communities

What does success look like?

Dartmoor’s communities are thriving and engaged in caring for the National Park. Sustainable development is supported in the right places, with climate change mitigation and adaptation at its heart, helping market towns, villages and the wider rural community thrive in a way which protects the environment, and leads by example. Dartmoor’s communities have ready access to quality housing, and the services and facilities they need, and make sustainable travel choices. New development in the National Park is of the highest quality, efficient, and conserves and enhances natural and heritage assets.

How will this be achieved?

We will support thriving communities by supporting development which is good for Dartmoor, by:

  • On an ongoing basis, working in partnership between DNPA, Local Housing Authorities, communities, landowners and Registered Housing Provides to deliver affordable homes, of a mix of types and tenures which respond to the identified local housing need.
  • Preparing planning guidance during 2022/3, which develops a modern design vernacular for Dartmoor, drawing on traditional local materials and styles, and promoting innovation, challenge, and an expectation of sustainable building.
  • From 2022 implementing the Local Plan which promotes development that is sustainable over its whole life cycle, in terms of its location, design, use of resources, and climate change adaptation.

Partners will achieve this by enabling sustainable communities, including:

  • Developing from 2022, a network of public, private and third sector groups which help communities to retain access to local services and facilities by sharing, exploring and developing innovative and replicable models for service delivery
  • Identifying needs for community facilities through the Infrastructure Delivery Plan each year, and support the communities to maintain and improve these through collaborative projects so that all generations have access to clubs, events, and activities in a way which promotes community cohesion and inclusion
  • From 2022, working in partnership to develop and seek funding for an annual programme of volunteering and apprenticeship opportunities so that anyone in communities within or outside the National Park has the opportunity to engage in caring for and managing Dartmoor and shaping its future
  • From 2023 promoting and enabling sustainable travel choices for local communities and visitors through development of the Green Transport Strategy.
  • Developing, from 2022, a network of public, private and third sector groups which help communities to make good choices about how they use resources, with opportunities for community recycling, local food, efficient buildings and energy generation, building local resilience and minimising their impact upon climate change.