NSA chief executive to lead land use management group

National Sheep Association (NSA) chief executive Phil Stocker has today (Wednesday, October 30) been announced as the first independent chair of the new Dartmoor Land Use Management Group (DLMUG), following appointment by Minister Daniel Zeichner.

Stocker, responsible in this role to the secretary of state, will lead the group, created as a result of the independent inquiry into land management on Dartmoor last year (2023).

The DLUMG is charged with developing and delivering a land use framework and plan for Dartmoor, recognised as an internationally significant site, while also providing oversight and stewarding the delivery of 25 recommendations also put forward in the review.  

Stocker said that he feels “honoured to have been appointed to this role and am looking forward to the challenge of working with the many varied stakeholders who will form this group, whose collective views will be paramount for the future successful land management of Dartmoor”.

“I hope to bring extensive experience gained from personal experience as chair of the Black Mountains Land Use Partnership, many years of working in a policy and technical environment, along with practical experience of conservation management and of course farming and food production to the role.

“These are difficult times with serious challenges ahead but I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to bring people and views together in a much loved area of South West England where multi functionality is desperately needed,” he added.

The role is independent from Stocker’s work at NSA, although the association believes it aligns with its future vision, as laid out in the recent NSA report ‘Sheep farming and the Sustainability Agenda’ , where the need for greater ownership of the environmental, economic and social challenges faced are discussed and sheep farming models, NSA believes to be a key part of the solution, are outlined.  

“Farmers have been, and must continue to be, central to Dartmoor’s future. We can build on the work of generations of farmers that have helped to maintain this special landscape but this doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t expect change.

“Change can be positive, providing people are prepared to engage and work to a shared vision.

“Decisions will need to be made that will affect the future of this vast area of common land but these will be based on real, honest evidence, reviewed by the group to produce a clear vision and action plan of what is needed to be achieved,” Stocker said.