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News from 2006
| Date | Title |
| Dec | Members of the Dunster Working Group and representatives of the local business community met up in Dunster recently to view the new signs, interpretation panels and an accompanying leaflet recently produced by the Working Group. The leaflet and panels feature village trails and points of interest which it is hoped will encourage people to spend longer in the village when they visit. |
| Dec | Busy Year for Sustainable Development Fund The Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund (SDF) a Defra fund, administered by Exmoor National Park Authority, has had a busy year with more than 46 expressions of interest, 23 completed applications and 18 grants totalling £324,830 being awarded. The median grant offered was £13,300. |
| Dec | Local young people are being given the opportunity to get out and explore local areas and understand the natural world that surrounds them as part of a £50K Heritage Lottery supported Heritage Ambassadors project led by the Field Studies Council at Nettlecombe Court near Williton. The year long project is funded by the Heritage Lottery, the Field Studies Council, Exmoor National Park, The Somerset Wildlife Trust and Quantock Hills AONB. |
| Dec | A Sustainable Future for Exmoor? Let us have your views is what Exmoor National Park Authority is saying following the recent production of a consultation draft of ‘A Sustainable Future for Exmoor’ - Exmoor National Park’s Management Plan 2007-2012. |
| Dec | An Appeal by Airwave 02 Limited against an enforcement notice issued by Exmoor National Park Authority has been dismissed by a Planning Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. The appeal sought to retain a 33.7 metre telecommunications tetra airwave mast and related antennae at Beacon Down quarry near Parracombe, North Devon. |
| Dec | Exmoor Awareness 2007 – Open Landscape Local tourism businesses are once again being given the opportunity to learn more about Exmoor, thanks to another of the successful Exmoor Awareness training programmes. |
| Dec | Exmoor farmers provide advice to UK National Parks Farm Liaison Officers from National Park Authorities across the UK gathered on Exmoor for their annual workshop last week. |
| Nov | Exmoor National Park – the perfect outdoor classroom Exmoor National Park Authority has welcomed the recent launch of the ‘Learning Outside the Classroom Manifesto’ by the Secretary of State for Education & Skills. |
| Nov | An important piece of local history, the Roadwater pillbox, has been conserved thanks to support from owners Mr & Mrs Evers and funding from the Monument Management Scheme, a partnership between Exmoor National Park Authority and English Heritage to conserve Exmoor’s Scheduled Ancient Monuments. |
| Nov | Exmoor National Park Authority rangers are offering people the opportunity of experiencing the magic of woodland in darkness during the weekend of 2nd and 3rd December to celebrate the Dunster by Candlelight and Dulverton by Starlight weekend. |
| Nov | Planning help for Porlock residents Residents of Porlock are able to have ready access to a planning officer thanks to Exmoor National Park Authority’s planning surgery held every Monday morning. |
| Nov | Lighting up life for salmon in River Exe Westcountry Rivers Trust is set to tackle the problem of overshading on the Little Exe this winter. Funding from the Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund is being used to carry out coppicing to increase light into shallow areas as part of the river restoration project to improve salmon numbers in the river. |
| Nov | Local Plan Policy Upheld On Appeal A Planning Inspector, appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has turned down an Appeal to overturn Exmoor National Park Authority’s decision to refuse planning permission for the ‘conversion of the ground floor a shop for open market occupation’. |
| Oct | The results of a new report entitled The Role of Game Shooting in Exmoor have just been revealed. The study was commissioned by Exmoor National Park Authority with funding also provided by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, the Countryside Agency, Somerset and Devon county councils and West Somerset and North Devon district councils and supported by the Greater Exmoor Shoots Association (GESA). |
| Oct | News From Exmoor National Park Authority Exmoor National Park Authority has agreed to buy Blackpitts near Simonsbath, a remote yet very prominent property set in approximately a hectare of land surrounded by National Park Authority owned open moorland. The property and surrounding buildings and land are in need of considerable renovation before they are suitable for any modern uses. |
| Oct | Local Scheme Offers up to 75% off Outdoors Activity Courses New dates have been announced by an innovative new scheme focusing on helping people gain outdoor activity qualifications on Exmoor. |
| Oct | A lucky 49 people enjoyed an Exmoor Tapas lunch recently when Peta Hodge and Paul Rainford, owners of Exmoor House Hotel in Wheddon Cross, served Exmoor Tapas during the Exmoor Food Festival and at the same time raised funds for CareMoor for Exmoor. |
| Oct | Annual House Price Survey 2006 The results of the Exmoor National Park Authority’s ninth annual House Price Survey reveal that the mean average house price on Exmoor now stands at £366,159, compared with £356,379 last year. This is an increase of 2.7% which is less than national and regional house price increases. The median average house price (which limits the distorting effect of a few extremely expensive houses) is £314,000. |
| Oct | Five new Directors appointed at the recent Visit Exmoor Annual General Meeting bring a wealth of tourism and business acumen to the partnership, in addition to representing a wide geographical spread of Exmoor and its environs. |
| Oct | Who gives a Tapas about CareMoor for Exmoor CareMoor for Exmoor, Exmoor National Park Authority's environmental support scheme, is to benefit when Peta Hodge and Paul Rainford from Exmoor House, Wheddon Cross are open their dining room at lunch times during the Exmoor Food Festival. |
| Sep | The Exmoor Ancient Tree Hunt, launched this year has with the public’s help, has succeeded in boosting the number of ancient trees recorded on Exmoor to over 1,700. |
| Sep | Visit Exmoor says "new bed tax will impose a further burden on tourism providers Chairman of Visit Exmoor, Ron Morrison-Smith, has written a strongly worded letter to Sir Michael Lyons, on behalf of the tourism industry in the area, objecting to the proposed new bed tax. |
| Aug | The Return Of The Ex-factor Building on its great success and acclaim last year, the eX-factor Project is inviting more talented young people from Bristol’s inner city to use Exmoor as a ‘place for inspiration’. Over three weeks of the summer they are taking part in a Film Week, a Music Week and a Survival Week at Exmoor National Park Authority’s Pinkery Centre for Outdoor Education situated in the middle of Exmoor. More than half the funding for the project in both 2005 and 2006 is provided by the Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund |
| Aug | Bunging up the bogs The Exmoor Mire Restoration Project More than a quarter of a million pounds is to be spent restoring the boggy places on Exmoor’s uplands. The aim of the new Exmoor Mire Restoration Project is to re-wet drained moorlands and bring wildlife back to bogs, fens and upland streams. |
| Aug | Successful first year for CareMoor for Exmoor Exmoor National Park Authority's environmental support fund, CareMoor for Exmoor, is now into its second year of fundraising following a hugely successful first twelve months. |
| Aug | Mobile reedbeds cleaning up on Exmoor National Park The four exemplar mobile reedbeds installed on Exmoor National Park, by Aardvark EM Ltd in conjunction with funding from the Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund, to treat and clean wastewater are proving very effective. |
| Aug | Partnership creates the missing link A vital ‘missing link’ in Exmoor’s bridleway network has been created thanks to a partnership between local landowner Nicky Gibbard, Exmoor National Park Authority and West Somerset Bridleways Association. |
| Aug | Help Shape The Future Exmoor's Economy In order to try to maximise the money coming in, and minimising the amount of money that ‘leaks’ from the local economy, Exmoor National Park Authority is commissioning work to get ideas from local businesses and individuals about how they can increase the range of Exmoor products and services they buy. |
| Aug | HRH THE EARL OF WESSEX KG KCVO TO LAUNCH TREC CHAMPIONSHIPS The Earl of Wessex, is to open the 2006 TREC European Championships at Dunster Castle, on September 15. During the ceremony, His Royal Highness will meet team members from all 10 competing nations, as well as organisers of the three-day championships, the first international TREC event to be held in this country. |
| Aug | WALKING FESTIVAL HELPS CLAPPER BRIDGE The North Devon and Exmoor Walking and Cycling Festival this year raised a healthy £288 through ticket sales towards Exmoor National Park Authority’s CareMoor for Exmoor initiative |
| Aug | EXMOOR PONY CENTRE OPENS After some 7 year’s of hard work by local charity The Moorland Mousie Trust, the Exmoor Pony Centre is now open to visitors |
| Aug | EXMOOR COMES TO TOWN! Young people in Bridgwater will have the opportunity to experience a little bit of Exmoor on Thursday 10 August when an Exmoor pony and a falconer visit the Hamp Re-Creation centre in Rhode Lane, Bridgwater |
| July | TALL STORIES AND LONG THREADS NATIONAL PARKS' WEEK National Parks’ Week got off to a great start with Spinning a Yarn Day on Exmoor last Saturday. |
| July | NATIONAL PARKS' WEEK 2006 What does a canoe trail the The Broads, Hide and Seek the Exmoor Beast, Cycles, Solar Power on Loch Lomond and learning how to catch crabs on the Pembrokeshire Coast have in common? They are just a few of the exciting events on offer during National Park’s Week 21-28 July 2006. |
| July | EXMOOR EXPLORER MOUNTAIN BIKE MARATON Keen mountain bikers from all over the country will be converging on Exmoor in a few weeks’ time for the Exmoor Explorer Mountain Bike Marathon, organised by Team Zoyland, on Sunday 6 August. |
| July | COLERIDGE WAY ON COUNTRYFILE Exmoor played host to BBC’s Countryfile programme recently when presenter John Craven visited the area to cover the Coleridge Way and to celebrate 50 years of the Quantocks Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). |
| May | RIVER RESTORATION PROGRAMME LAUNCHED TO TACKLE DECLINING SALMON NUMBERS ON THE EXE The Westcountry Rivers Trust has been awarded £57,000 through the Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund (provided by Defra and administered by Exmoor National Park Authority) to carry out a two-year restoration programme to increase salmon numbers in the Little Exe. |
| May | GUIDED TOURS OF SIMONSBATH SAWMILL Visit the restored Victorian sawmill at Simonsbath to see how trees, felled in some of Exmoor’s most beautiful woodlands during vital conservation and enhancement work, are used to create the distinctive footpath signs, gates, stiles, and bridges, that can be found throughout Exmoor National Park. Hear from the estate sawyer and see first-hand how traditional water-power and newer methods of milling are used today. |
| May | EXMOOR TRUST CALLS FOR ACTION TO OBTAIN CAPITAL FUNDS FOR EXMOOR Introducing the Open Forum held today as part of the AGM of the Exmoor Trust, Chairman Edwin Beckett, called for an urgent review of the funding for capital projects in the Exmoor Area. The three main bids for capital funding from the Lottery Fund from this area had all failed to progress beyond the initial stages leaving a deficit of well over £30 million to be found from other sources. All the projects aspired to the regeneration of the area leading to much improved prospects for sustainable recovery |
| May | RIGHTS OF REGISLATION COMES INTO FORCE On the 2nd May 2006 two pieces of legislation came into force affecting RUPP's (roads used as public paths) within Exmoor National Park. Please read the following information notes (PDF, 267KB) for more details. |
| May | LOCAL ACCESS FASKS 'IS IT WORKING'? The Exmoor Local Access Forum is seeking the views of local communities to see how the new right to open access land is working and what could be improved. |
| May | THE EXMOOR EXCCE AWARDS The first ever Exmoor Excellence Awards were presented at the annual Visit Exmoor Tourism meeting in Porlock recently. |
| May | NEW RIDING ROUOR EXMOOR AND THE QUANTOCKS A new publication of riding routes on Exmoor and the Quantocks is to be launched at Exford by Debbie Criddle, three-times equestrian Gold Medallist at the Athens Paralympics, on Thursday 25 May |
| May | NEW BRIDLEWAYSED UP Three new public bridleways have recently been opened around Dunster through the goodwill of The Crown Estate working with staff from Exmoor National Park Authority. |
| Apr | EXMOOR TRUST15,000 FOR DUNSTER The Exmoor Trust has received confirmation that its application to provide revised signing for Dunster has been accepted by Defra which has agreed to pay £15,000 towards the total cost. The application was made on behalf of the Dunster Action Group whose plan included a significant revision and improvement of signage for the village. Part of the proposals will be met by contributions from the Exmoor National Part Authority for their work on the new permissive walkway and providing a new orientation board on Dunster Steep, and also by the Dunster Tourism Group in their production of leaflets for visitors |
| Apr | ‘A SUSTAINABRE FOR EXMOOR' EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK MANAGEMENT PLAN Exmoor National Park is set to get a major boost when the first consultation event for the ‘National Park Management Plan – A Sustainable Future for Exmoor’ is held in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal in Lynton Town Hall on Monday 10 April 2006. |
| .Apr | NATIONAL PARITIES WELCOME FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT The Association of English National Parks today (Thursday) welcomed the news that the Government has decided to increase the grant to National Park Authorities by the rate of inflation for the next two years |
| Mar | NATIONAL PARKES OPEN National Park Centres across Exmoor will open for the season from 1 April 2006. The Centre at Dulverton is open throughout the winter and some Centres have been open for weekends but from next week all five Centres will open daily from 10am to 5pm. The National Park Centres are located at Dulverton, Dunster, Combe Martin, Blackmoor Gate and County Gate. |
| Mar | JOBS & TRAINING GRANTS & LOANS DELIVERING NATIONAL PARK AIMS Businesses across Exmoor are starting up and expanding thanks to grants and loans from the Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund (provided by the South West Regional Development Agency and Defra). |
| Mar | PUTTING E-PLANNING ON THE MAP Exmoor National Park Authority has just been recognised as 'excellent' by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for the quality of its planning services available electronically. |
| Mar | FARM SURVEY VITAL TO INFLUENCE CHANGE Exmoor National Park Authority has expressed concern about the possible impact that recent changes in hill farm payments could have on Exmoor’s landscape and wildlife and is urging farmers to help with a study that it has commissioned the University of Exeter to carry out. |
| Mar | STEP OUT AND EAT UP TO SUPPORT CHARITY Exmoor National Park Authority Ranger Patrick Watts-Mabbott is stepping out to support Breakthrough Breast Cancer and is looking for people of all ages to join him. The gentle 2 mile walk on Mother’s Day (Sunday 26th March) will be followed by a cream tea in the Moorland Hall, Wheddon Cross (SS924387). |
| Mar | “KEEP YOUR DOG ON A LEAD” IS THE CALL THIS SPRING AND SUMMER Exmoor National Park Authority is reminding people who are heading for the great outdoors of the need to keep dogs on a short leads during the ground nesting bird breeding season which runs from the 1 March to 31 July. |
| Feb | REEDBEDS ON THE MOVE IN EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK Local company Aardvark EM Limited, who specialise in wastewater treatment have developed a lightweight mobile reedbed that acts and functions similarly to traditional reedbed systems, but requires less space and can be transported almost anywhere to treat waste waters from industry, leisure, domestic households and agriculture within a matter of hours of a request. |
| Feb | LATEST SDF GRANTS ANNOUNCED The Exmoor National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund panel met recently and grants that will be of benefit to Exmoor and its community have been awarded to the following projects: |
| Feb | WE NEED YOUR VIEWS! The Exmoor Local Access Forum is seeking the views of North Devon communities to see how the new right to open access land is working and what could be improved. |
| Feb | LAST CHANCE TO SEE THE SNOWDROPS There is just one more week to go for a stress-free chance to view the snowdrops using the snowdrop valley park and ride from Wheddon Cross organised by Exmoor National Park Authority. |
| Feb | NATIONAL PARKS: A HISTORY To understand the importance of National Parks in a modern Britain, we need to examine the historical context in which they were designated. |
| Feb | <no link text>NATIONAL PARKS WEEK 2006 National Parks Week is coming your way – Friday 21 July to Friday 28 July 2006. |
| Feb | HELP THE FUTURE OF EXMOOR Exmoor National Park Authority is seeking individuals to join the Independent Advisory Panel for the Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund. |
| Jan | EXMOOR AWARENESS 2006 – WOODLAND LIFE Local tourism businesses will once again have the opportunity to learn more about Exmoor thanks to another series the successful Exmoor Awareness training programmes. The scheme is run by Exmoor National Park Authority, in partnership with Visit Exmoor and the Exmoor Tourist Association. |
| Jan | WHAT A LOAD OF RUBBISH! Exmoor National Park Authority Rangers collected two large trailers full of rubbish when they undertook an 11 mile litter pick from Wheddon Cross to Elworthy Cross along the B3224 last Thursday. |
| Jan | EXMOOR NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY REVIEW A recent review of the work Exmoor National Park Authority by a team of officials from other National Parks and the public sector has praised the enthusiasm and commitment of Authority staff and the positive contribution being made by Members. One member of the visiting team said that he “had never come across an organisation with such positive staff”. |
| Jan | EXMOOR PONY APPEAL Exmoor National Park Authority has appealed to people not to feed the Exmoor Ponies on North Hill above Minehead. Someone has recently been putting out vegetables and scraps for the ponies which will eventually cause them to become more demanding and aggressive towards people when looking for food. |
| Jan | EXMOOR BIDS FOR BIG LOTTERY MILLIONS An ambitious bid application led by the Exmoor Trust to secure funding for over £20 million of projects to benefit Exmoor has been sent to The Big Lottery Fund. The Big Lottery Fund announced its new grant priorities last June for projects of between £10 and £25 million and the ‘Sharing Exmoor’ consortium will be applying under the Living Landmarks scheme. |
| Jan | LOTTERY SUPPORT FOR EXMOOR’S MOORLAND The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has offered Exmoor National Park Authority a £50,000 grant towards the planning of a major moorland project on Exmoor. The planning and consultation will take place in 2006 and a bid for some £1 million of funding will be submitted in 2007. |
| Jan | NATIONAL PARK CENTRES GIVE SATISFACTION National Park Centres run by the Exmoor National Park Authority continue to provide and excellent service for the public a recent survey reveals. |
| Jan | IRONMAN IS COMING It's official, Exmoor and West Somerset have been chosen as the venue for the UK IRONMAN 70.3 Triathlon on Sunday 18th June 2006. |
| Jan | SNOWDROP VALLEY 2006 The Snowdrop Valley Park and Ride scheme from Wheddon Cross supported by Exmoor National Park Authority is set to start on Saturday 28 January 2006, a week earlier than usual. |
