The Prime Minister believes that Exmoor farmers must be fully involved in any project to rewild an area of the national park, local MP Ian Liddell-Grainger claimed yesterday (Thursday).

He said he had raised the issue with Boris Johnson during a meeting on Wednesday.

“I told him that farmers had not been properly consulted even though the scheme had already reached a fairly advanced stage of planning,” Mr Liddell-Grainger said.

“And his response was unequivocal – no scheme like this should go forward without farmers being fully on board.”

Some 26 square miles of the park – ten per cent of its total area – could be allowed to revert to wilder areas such as wetlands, scrub and woodlands under a scheme already approved by Exmoor’s nature conservation advisory panel, drawn largely from external wildlife organisations.

There are also suggestions of reintroducing species such as beaver and even European lynx.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said he was encouraged by the Prime Minister’s response.

“He grew up on Exmoor so he knows the area well and therefore he also knows that nothing has worked, or ever will work on Exmoor, without the co-operation, help and support of the farming community,” he said.

“The national park authority relies on them to keep the landscape in good shape because it has neither the staff nor the resources to do the job itself – and those individuals on the national park committee who are so intent on pushing this notion through would do well to remember that.

“The national park doesn’t own anything like 26 square miles of Exmoor so inevitably most of the rewilding will be taking place on farmers’ and landowners’ property.

“In that case it is a particularly shabby way to treat them when they are only consulted at the stage where the ink is already drying on the plan.”

Mr Liddell-Grainger, whose constituency covers two-thirds of Exmoor, now intends to raise the issue with the Defra agriculture team next week.

“I will make it my business to spell out to Defra the devastating economic consequences this ill-conceived and ill thought-out scheme would have for Exmoor’s Farming community,” he said.