THE heavens opened as Prince William paid a visit to Princetown today, Thursday, in the heart of Dartmoor, to launch a new plan to restore the landscape while helping moorland farmers.

The Prince of Wales, who is also Duke of Cornwall, was visiting to launch the Duchy of Cornwall estate’s 20-year plan for the moor.

First call was Tor Royal Bog, just south of Princetown high on the moor, where he met Duchy tenant farmers David and Justine Colton, alongside South West Peatland Partnership’s Morag Angus, to hear more about the collaborative effort to restore Dartmoor’s peatlands.

The new landscape vision for Dartmoor sets out a plan to give new life to its wilderness; restoring nature whilst strengthening and protecting it from the impact of climate change and meeting the changing needs of people, place and planet.

Convened by the Duchy of Cornwall and Central Dartmoor Landscape Recovery Project, it is bringing together dozens of collaborators, including farmers and commoners, to propose new approaches to grazing, biodiversity, conservation and hydrological restoration, as part of the largest project of its kind in the UK.

Designed as a 20-year roadmap, the vision outlines a set of guiding principles to inform the future environmental management of the Duchy’s Dartmoor estate, which encompasses about a third of the moor.

The Duchy will prioritise a holistic approach, these principles address the need for restoring and enhancing the resilience of the natural landscape; promoting sustainable farming and land use practices through efforts including ecologically led grazing and the prioritisation of native, species-rich grasslands; and engaging the local community through initiatives like developing a rural skills pool and providing affordable housing for landscape managers and retiring workers.

Writing in the foreword of the Vision, Prince William wrote: “Dartmoor is a magnificent and complex ecosystem - the balance between nature and people has evolved for thousands of years to shape the landscape we recognise today. To keep Dartmoor special we must respond to the twin challenges of global warming and the requirement to restore nature, while ensuring the communities on Dartmoor can thrive.

“The Dartmoor Vision shows us what might be possible and how that might be achieved. It is bold and ambitious and something I hope, by working together, can be delivered for not ust the current generation but for generations to come.”

Matthew Morris, rural director at the Duchy of Cornwall, said “the level of collaboration behind this vision has been remarkable, enabling us to develop a clear path to protect, restore and heal the land, grounded in the knowledge of those who know Dartmoor best”.

His Royal Highness was joined by key stakeholders including Natural England chair, Tony Juniper; the chair of the Dartmoor Land Use Management Group, Phil Stocker, director of conservation and communities of Dartmoor National Park Authority, Richard Drysdale; director of natural resources at South West Water, Carolyn Cadman and representatives of the Central Dartmoor Landscape Recovery Project and Dartmoor Commoners’ Council.

After that meeting, Prince William went onto meet representatives from the local fire service, Dartmoor National Park Authority rangers and members of the Dartmoor Commoners Council to hear about their experiences of responding to a recent wildfire on the north part of Dartmoor and thank them for their efforts.