Dartmoor National Park LPA BNG

Dartmoor National Park, located in Devon, South West England, covers approximately 954 square kilometres of protected upland landscape characterised by rugged moorland, ancient woodlands, river valleys, and granite tors. It is renowned for its rich biodiversity and cultural heritage, with a mosaic of habitats including heathland, blanket bog, woodlands, and species-rich grasslands.

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While National Parks are not LPAs in the typical planning sense, Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) exercises planning functions and incorporates Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) requirements aligned with the Environment Act 2021. Most development proposals within the park are expected to achieve at least 10% BNG, typically through habitat enhancement, restoration of degraded moorland, woodland planting, or off-site biodiversity credits.

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Dartmoor lies within Dartmoor National Character Areas that influence the ecological composition of the landscape. Its upland habitats support important species such as the upland breeding bird assemblage (including skylark and meadow pipit), adders, rare mosses and lichens, and notable bat populations.

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Implementing BNG in Dartmoor involves balancing development needs with protection of sensitive upland habitats and the preservation of the park’s unique natural heritage.

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Our ecological consultancy supports developers and landowners with BNG assessments, habitat mapping, and metric calculations tailored to the upland and moorland context of Dartmoor.