Dawlish Countryside Park transfers to the Land Trust

Dawlish Countryside Park has transferred to the long term management of the Land Trust, with the national land management charity awarded a 999 year lease by Teignbridge Council.

The Land Trust will manage Dawlish with a focus on its five key charitable objectives of:

• Health and wellbeing
• Environment and biodiversity
• Education and training
• Community and social cohesion
• Economic vitality

The agreement between the Land Trust and Teignbridge Council will ensure that the recent public and environmental benefits will be safeguarded and significant economic and social value delivered to the surrounding communities.

Assisted by Holbury Consultancy Service and Artemis Ecological Consulting, the Land Trust produced the masterplan and management plan for this site on behalf of Teignbridge District Council in 2016.

Opened in 2017, Dawlish is a 26 hectare countryside park that already attracts over 200,000 visitors a year with ample car parking and bike racks for those travelling to site. With circular walks of differing lengths, there is the opportunity for visitors to experience a wild countryside park with a variety of habitats and far reaching views of the Devonshire countryside. Dawlish is a great spot for bird watching with Skylarks and Cirl Bunting calling the site home and the grassland is packed with colourful wildflowers and bustling with butterflies and other wildlife.

Since being opened to the public, the site was awarded an RTPI award for planning excellence.

The Land Trust will use an endowment to manage the site in perpetuity and deliver the long term goals of the park, which mirrors the Trust’s vision of improving people’s lives by creating high quality green spaces.

Land Trust Chief Executive, Euan Hall, added:

“Well managed green spaces play a very important role in protecting people’s physical and mental wellbeing and we have seen over the last year what a positive impact they have had on communities throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

“After having been involved with the scheme for five years, we are delighted to begin our long term management of Dawlish Countryside Park, which is already delivering a wide range of benefits to the community who live and work around this green space.

“For the foreseeable future we’ll be working hard to ensure that Dawlish continues to provide a vital service to the people it serves and create significant economic and social value for the local area.”

The Land Trust’s Estates team will appoint Teignbridge District Council’s Green Spaces Team, and in partnership will engage with the local community and encourage them to get actively involved in managing the long-term sustainability and biodiversity of this thriving green space.

Council leader Alan Connett said:

“We’re delighted that the agreement reached with Land Trust will ensure local people and visitors can enjoy Dawlish Countryside Park into the next millennium.

“The agreement safeguards the vital Habitat Regulations and our greenspace rangers will continue to be involved, ensuring that their expert input and experience is maintained.

“This is a great outcome for the council, the staff and the future of the Park.”