Moor chaos coming this way...

On September 4th, the MOD announced it's new Integrated Rural Management Plan (IRMP) to the general public. Its their strategy for the Dartmoor Training area (their ranges, and leased land on the moor).

It sounds a little dull.

However, its going to have massive effects on our great hobby. For a start, most of the flagpoles will be moved (Walkham Spur, Great Mis, Kitty Tor, Steeperton, Rough Tor, Beardown, to name a few. Or removed for good: at Black Down, Roos Tor, Fordsland Ledge and Yes Tor.

Then there are the OPs and lookouts which will be moved, demolished and built.

Whilst the IRMP spells only good news for wildlife (bats, salmon, sheep, Black-a-tor copse), in an effort to make Dartmoor a more suitable place to train for Afghanistan, tracked vehicles will be used increasingly on the moor, and more tracks will me installed around Willsworthy and Lane End.

The link to the plan is here: http://www.dartmoor-ranges.co.uk/milita ... ement.html

The MOD want comments by the end of October.

Moving flagpoles will certainly affect lots of clues for boxes, just like what happened when they moved the Range Poles. At least this time around, people who put boxes out generally take a GPS of the site and that doesn't move!!!. Really annoys me that the army can drive on the moor with their 'tracked' and heavy vehicles when we, jo public, can't even drive around a proper stone track around the ring road

yet more destruction to the moor - seems the army can rip the moors up with impunity and no care to its beauty. Personally I feel they should be getting out of Afganistan and with the massive budget cuts coming and getting out of Afganistan in the not so distant future I really don't see the point of their plans.

Removal of said landmarks will create problems within the letterbox community in the short term and a headache for all those who have boxes out who use the said landmarks - let alone the catalogue!

The idea of more tracks linking Lane End and Willsworthy intrigues me. Will these be open to the public? There was also mention of linking them with Baggator - a new bridge across the Tavy perhaps?

Has anyone logged into the MOD's web site recently - the cost efficient replacement for dartmoor-ranges.co.uk. I've found it to be pretty tricky to navigate, and impossible to find any detail at all without being spun off into generic MOD websites. The Dartmoor firing notice still exists via a catchy link: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/Micro ... Notice.htm But as for the location of the above mentioned IRMP, as described on the new site:

The Integrated Rural Management Plan sets out how the MOD cares for its responsibilities on the Dartmoor Training Area

Well you can search all you like, but, why would they make something like that publicly accessable?!? The site tells you to:

contact us for a copy

Hmmm...

I worked for the MoD as a subcontractor and then as an employee for quite a number of years anduring that time always found it very difficult to progress through their systems - long before computers and such came into being. I think they deliberately overwhelm you with info and options that are not straightforward.

Anyay, it seems to me that the IRPM has (in this area) replaced what was the ''In Trust & On Trust - The Strategy for the Defence Estate' published in 2000. The introduction of the 'Countryside and Rights of Way Bill' obviously caused a re-think and at some time a booklet was issued to cover all MoD land access - ''Walks on Ministry of Defence Lands'' - ISBN 0-906269-04-0
(the above is probably out of date but I cannot find any notification of an update. It is still a valid info item for walkers all the same)

The Wandering Artist wrote:I worked for the MoD as a subcontractor and then as an employee for quite a number of years anduring that time always found it very difficult to progress through their systems - long before computers and such came into being. I think they deliberately overwhelm you with info and options that are not straightforward.

Anyay, it seems to me that the IRPM has (in this area) replaced what was the ''In Trust & On Trust - The Strategy for the Defence Estate' published in 2000. The introduction of the 'Countryside and Rights of Way Bill' obviously caused a re-think and at some time a booklet was issued to cover all MoD land access - ''Walks on Ministry of Defence Lands'' - ISBN 0-906269-04-0
(the above is probably out of date but I cannot find any notification of an update. It is still a valid info item for walkers all the same)

I still remember the 16-30 digit phone numbers we used to have to call when using the internal phone system... that was a nightmare

I've requested a copy of the latest IRMP via a Freedom Of Information request to the Ministry of Defence. I'll post any interesting details as soon as I receive it.