Byelaws Review
Final draft of revised byelaws
Following extensive work evaluating over 4,000 consultation responses, a final draft of revised Byelaws were considered at a special Authority meeting on 11 November 2022.
Work was informed by legal advice, evidence, impact and sustainability assessments alongside detailed responses from statutory consultees and extensive public feedback.
The current set of byelaws relating to access land on Dartmoor were adopted in 1989 and are more than 30 years old.
Supreme Court judgment: May 2025
A Supreme Court judgment issued on 21 May 2025 ruled that backpack camping was allowed on Dartmoor under the Dartmoor Commons Act 1985.
We had paused the Byelaws review while awaiting the judgment and are currently receiving legal advice on next steps for the review in terms of timing and scope.
We'll update here when there's more to say. If you have any questions in the meantime please email us.
What changes are being proposed?
View a side-by-side comparison of the existing, proposed in September 2021 and, revised in November 2022 byelaws or the full final draft revised byelaws comparison of the existing, proposed and revised byelaws (PDF) or the full draft byelaws.
Find out which areas of land the byelaws apply to (PDF).