WIDECOMBE-in-the-Moor farmer Will Dracup has been re-elected as Chairman of Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA).

Mark Renders was also re-elected as deputy chairman following the DNPA’s annual meeting, which took place at the authority’s headquarters at Parke in Bovey Tracey on Friday, July 3.

Mr Dracup, who was born and raised on Dartmoor, works on his family farm and manages the farm for the Shallowford Trust, a charity that provides educational and residential opportunities for children and young people to experience nature and rural life.

Speaking after his re-election, he said it was a privilege to continue leading DNPA and reaffirmed his commitment to promoting Dartmoor in a positive light, while supporting the National Park and the communities that call it home.

Deputy Chair Mark Renders is the postmaster in Princetown, where he also owns and runs the village shop.

He serves as the parish member for Dartmoor Forest and is a councillor with West Devon Borough Council.

The DNPA also confirmed a number of other appointments.

Caroline Mott was elected Chairman of the Development Management Committee, with Guy Pannell serving as Deputy Chair.

Sally Morgan will chair the Audit and Governance Committee and the Standards Sub-Committee, while Dr Mary Seddon becomes Deputy Chair of Audit and Governance and Chairman of the Park Management Working Panel.

Peter Smerdon will chair the Planning and Sustainable Development Panel.

Members were also appointed to represent the DNPA on a number of external organisations and working groups, including the Campaign for National Parks, Dartmoor Access Forum, Dartmoor Commoners Council and the Dartmoor Rural Crime Initiative.

Dartmoor National Park Authority is made up of 19 members, as set out in the Environment Act 1995.

Five are appointed by Devon County Council, five from district councils, including Teignbridge, West Devon and South Hams, while the remaining nine are appointed by the Government to represent national interests and parish councils within the park.

The appointments come during a significant year for Dartmoor, which is celebrating 75 years since it was officially designated as a National Park.

The anniversary marks decades of protecting one of the country's most distinctive landscapes while balancing conservation, public access and the needs of local communities.

Although Dartmoor's designation dates back to 1951, the movement that led to the creation of Britain's National Parks began much earlier.

In 1932, a group of young walkers took part in the famous Kinder Scout trespass, standing up for the belief that the outdoors should be open to everyone, not just a privileged few.

Their actions helped spark a movement that eventually led to the creation of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949, providing a framework in which our National Parks and National Landscapes were shaped.

Today, Dartmoor remains one of the UK's 15 National Parks, renowned for its dramatic landscapes, rich wildlife, archaeological heritage and thousands of years of human history.