Wild River Dart Action Plan

How the Wild River Dart Action Plan was created

The initial work to develop this Action Plan was funded by the Environment Agency through its Species Recovery Fund. The South Devon National Landscape was the commissioning partner and project enabler. This commission, undertaken in late 2023- early 2024, resulted in the publication of “Towards a River Dart Catchment Action Plan” in April 2024.

The document was titled “Towards…” because the time and resources available for its creation were not sufficient to enable the level of engagement and feedback that a fully-fledged action plan requires. That document aimed to set out the key issues affecting the river, draw conclusions about overall priorities and set out a process for developing the full Action Plan. 

During 2024 a further round of Action Plan development and consultation was commissioned, based on the “Towards” report, to get further feedback on the initial findings and produce a draft Action Plan for wider consultation. This work was funded partly by the Environment Agency’s Water Environment Improvement Fund (WEIF), partly by the South Devon National Landscape and partly by Riverford Organic Farmers Ltd. The project was hosted by The Sharpham Trust who also provided in-kind support.