CAMPAIGNERS say that Dartmoor National Park must 'be courageous' at tomorrow’s meeting and appeal the recent court ruling on wild camping. The groups are also highly critical of a 'cash for camping' deal that they describe as a 'stitch-up'.

Right to Roam and The Stars are for Everyone say that National Park Authority members should be encouraged by the public outcry on the withdrawal of wild camping rights. They ask that the Park today agrees to appeal the recent controversial ruling to ensure that full rights to wild camping on Dartmoor are restored, rather than sign up to landowner deals.

The deal currently under discussion will see public money given to landowners on Dartmoor in return for them allowing camping on the land they own. This follows a landmark decision two weeks ago that saw millionaire landowner and hedge fund manager Alexander Darwall successfully challenge people’s free right to camp on the iconic moorland.

Jon Moses from Right to Roam said: 'We wholly reject the selling off of our rights in exchange for diminished permissive access, which can be arbitrarily withdrawn by landowners at any time and comes with a price tag charged to taxpayers.

'This ransom note sets a dangerous precedent for access to the outdoors which turns a public right into a private commodity. It represents the latest in a history of enclosures where the public are charged for the crumbs off the landowners table; it is an erosion of our ability to freely access the countryside and - here on Dartmoor - to peacefully sleep under the stars.'

'Dartmoor National Park Authority should be free to act on behalf of the people of Dartmoor and beyond to protect access rights for all rather than being held to ransom to agree deals with privileged landowners behind closed doors without public scrutiny. The whole thing is a “stitch-up”. It raises the question - should the Park Authority exist to protect land rights for all or be there to simply support the opportunistic avarice of landowners?'

The groups add that it is also wrong that wealthy landowners should now be given public cash at a time when the National Park Authority is being forced to make cuts to jobs and services. [Note 1]. There is also concern that whatever the initial fee is set at, there would be nothing to stop it increasing over time.

Lewis Winks from The Stars Are for Everyone said: 'Dartmoor was the only place in England where the right to wild camping existed. We don’t want this to become a quirky historical anomaly, we want to see the same rights afforded to people in other National Parks, so what happens today is of crucial importance to the newly re-invigorated right to roam movement. We need Dartmoor National Park to step up and be courageous.'