THE Government’s independent Landscapes Review has singled out Exmoor for assets including natural beauty and nature-friendly farming.

And the review, led by writer Julian Glover, has been welcomed by Exmoor National Park Authority chief executive Sarah Bryan for its “forward-thinking” proposals.

The Glover Review calls for bold action to reignite the founding sprit of the national park movement to make them “greener, more beautiful and open to everyone”.

The report is referred to by Defra as potentially “the biggest shake-up of the running of England’s National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty since they were founded 70 years ago”.

Mr Glover and his panel toured all 44 of them with Exmoor national park among the first to receive a visit last July, during which he met with locals and visited some of the area’s beauty spots.

“For 70 years national parks have had natural beauty and people at their core,” said Ms Bryan.

“The newly published Glover Review now challenges all protected landscapes to add nature recovery and natural capital to that equation, rightly reaffirming that our joint responsibility towards these treasured places goes far beyond human enjoyment and values.

“These places have always been sources of inspiration, spiritual refreshment and cultural understanding.

“But inherently they are also the lungs of our planet, the natural home for much of our iconic wildlife and a source of many live-giving ecosystem services. It’s vital national parks do more to get this message across to people of all ages and backgrounds, and we further welcome this challenge.

“We’re pleased that Exmoor national park is specifically mentioned in the report, as an exemplar of natural beauty, nature-friendly farming, natural capital principles and nature restoration.

“But we accept there are areas where we could and should do more, such as in strengthening our relationships with neighbouring landscapes, attracting a greater diversity of authority members and ensuring nature recovery remains high on the agenda.

“It is with this in mind that we congratulate Julian and his team for their hard work and forward-thinking proposals. We look forward to working with Government and our partners to grasp these opportunities and see that iconic landscapes like ours are primed to play their collective part in addressing the challenges of our time.”