A peaceful gathering and picnic is being held at Dartmoor National Park Authority HQ tomorrow, July 26, to draw attention to the climate and ecological crisis and support a zero carbon target date of 2025.

The event will be at the headquarters at Parke, Bovey Tracey, from 9.30am, to encourage meeting officials to declare a climate emergency, in line with other councils across Teignbridge and Devon.

A spokesperson said: ‘This will be a peaceful gathering by people who care about the planet, who understand the serious crisis we are facing.

‘We want to offer support to Dartmoor National Park Authority to make this a priority in their upcoming Local Plan.

‘Come and join us – bring a picnic, bring the children, and an umbrella for shade or rain. And bring a poster showing your support and your local town or village. Come along and show the Authority how much you care about the future of your community.’

The gathering will be happening while the Dartmoor National Park Authority meets to review planning application applications.

Local climate activists will address the meeting with a statement of four requests: to join Devon County Council, Teignbridge District Council and town councils in declaring a Climate and Ecological Emergency and work towards becoming carbon neutral by 2025; to ensure all new dwellings within Dartmoor are designed to be carbon neutral; to carry out a green audit of the DNP organisation; and to relax planning restrictions on existing dwellings and business within the national park, to enable the residents to become carbon neutral by allowing them to generate their own power through solar panels, wind turbines, use of water sources.

The spokesperson added: ‘The Government’s Climate Change Committee published a report on July 10 that brought to the Government’s attention its failure to deliver upon 96 per cent of the policies needed in order to meet the Government’s own targets.

‘This Government report supports the need for environmental activists to continue raising the alarm about the existential threat of this ongoing climate and ecological crisis.

‘The Government is failing to meet its own targets according to its own adviser, the Climate Change Committee, which published the report calling for stronger and swifter action.

‘We believe that all local authorities must act urgently to mitigate the risk we face.’