Exmoor National Park funding in ‘uncharted territory’ as the government changes the rules

A shock change to funding for national parks has put Exmoor at a ‘crunch point’ which could affect staffing levels, a meeting has been told.

Exmoor National Park was told just weeks after setting its annual budget that the government wants to revamp how it funds national parks.

The change, which means Westminster is reducing the park’s day-to-day spending budget and shifting more cash into the capital budget that funds larger projects, could put pressure on areas such as staffing and equipment.

Exmoor National Park Authority (ENPA), the body that oversees the park, heard the change could put the organisation in a difficult position in years to come.

“We are in pretty uncharted territory in this meeting as I don’t think that in the past 20 years, we have ever had to come back to members in the first month of a financial year with a change in the projected income figures for that year of such a significant nature,” said the park’s chief financial officer Ben Barrett.

Mr Barrett said a letter from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) stated the government wanted to reduce its revenue budget by more than £263,000 – more than eight per cent of the budget.

The government wants to shift that cash over to the capital budget and has given a further £1.14million in capital funding.

However, capital funding has a deadline by which it must be spent, meaning the park will need to decide quickly how it will use the money.

The park faces reducing this year’s revenue budget by nearly £100,000.

And to cover the remaining drop in its revenue funding, it will largely rely on reserves, put less ‘rainy day cash’ aside and will increase charges for education facilities, some car parks, public path diversions and parkland tree dedications.

“We are required to spend the capital budget by March 2026 and in that time we have to seek approval for projects from members, then gain the necessary consents, such as planning, go through a procurement process and deliver the project,” Mr Barrett added.

“For some projects, that will be very tight.”

The biggest concern raised by members is the potential pressure on staff. Wages are paid from the revenue budget and if this reduces at a time when wage and employment costs are rising, it could make it harder to maintain staff levels.

And if staff numbers drop, that could make it more challenging to complete capital projects.

The medium term financial plan shows a projected budget shortfall of £440,000 between now and 2030.

Parks have to set a balanced budget each year, meaning Exmoor will either need to find ways to raise extra income, reduce costs, or lean on reserves.

Councillor Andrea Davis, who chairs the ENPA, said: “We can’t carry on like this. Generally, revenue hits have an impact on staff resources and ambitious capita programmes will need staff resources.”

Other members of the committee said it was ‘baffling’ the government had suggested this change suddenly and raised fears the park might have to hire staff purely for the duration of specific projects.

Cllr Mandy Chilcott said the change is a ‘watershed moment’.

She added: “It feels like a lurch towards project-based, one-off funding, something that we’ll probably see with lots of things.”

Dominic Elson, another committee member, also expressed shock. “When I first read the report, I shut it as I thought ‘I can’t cope with this’ and hoped that if I opened it the next day it might change,” he said.

“It was actually quite hard to take in as it is ridiculous, but then I realised it was true.”

The committee voted unanimously to approve the park’s revised annual budget and medium-term financial plan.