Who Owns the River Dart
From its source high on Dartmoor to the sea, the Dart is a much loved river.
It is also a valuable chunk of real estate, with access to large stretches of it heavily controlled or impossible.
Now Totnes campaigner ,researcher and writer Lewis Winks has found out who owns the river. He thinks this is the first time a river in England and Wales has had its ownership mapped. The results are fascinating. As expected, the Duchy of Cornwall owns a fair chunk of the frontage, but Lewis’ work – helped by Guy Shrubsole – reveals that offshore companies own nearly 19 kilometres. The National Trust, the Forestry Commission, the Duke of Somerset and the Church are among the owners, as is South West Water.
There are 108 separate riparian landowners from source to sea.
- A quarter of the riverbank is owned by aristocratic estates and new money elites.
- 10% is owned by 34 corporations.
- 7% is owned by farms, and 13% by individuals.
- 38% of riverbank is registered to addresses outside of the catchment.
- 18.7km is owned via offshore companies.
He hopes that finding out who owns which stretch will help open up access to the river – a goal of the Labour Government, which has promised nine new river walks in England. But Lewis points out that if ownership is so fragmented, as on the Dart, getting permission from landowners for the right to river-roam will be a logistical nightmare. “I love exploring the river and there are lots of places I can’t access or have had to trespass to do so, and I thought why is that?”
He advocates a rights-based access approach, like in Scotland. “We don’t have legal rights to swim in most rivers. We get emails from people every day where their favourite spots have been barred.” Luckily in Totnes and Dartington the Trust and Sharpham estate allow permissive access and swimmers, kayakers and walkers are able to take to the river. But elsewhere it’s less easy.
For example, at Spitchwick near Ashburton generations of locals have taken advantage of the sandy banks to picnic and cool off in the clear but browny tinged waters of the Dart (including this
writer). But Lewis says the owners, a Gibraltar registered management trust, have put up no swimming signs. “Our access or otherwise is at the behest of these landowners. It is exactly the same as the wild camping row,” Lewis said. “That’s why we’re calling for a rights-based approach to river access – similar to the system in Scotland, where the public has the right to responsibly walk, swim, paddle and canoe along most rivers and lochs, with sensible exceptions.” He added: “Our rivers are in a dire state and it is not because of kyakers or dog walkers. In fact it has been these groups of users who have sounded the alarm.”
“Community groups like Friends of the River Dart are working hard to protect and restore rivers, despite limited access and unclear ownership. We hope this mapping will support their efforts, inspire others to investigate who owns their local rivers, and present the case that meaningful access must be based on rights – not on tenuous and piecemeal negotiation.”
He pointed out that if there were more places along the river to go, the pressure on hot spots like Spitchwick would ease.
His research, making use of local knowledge, site visits, angling maps, Section 31 Deposits, Companies House records, and a handful of gaps backfilled with Land Registry data, took about 18 months. “It brought me closer to the Dart. I will be looking at the banks in a different light now.”
View the interactive map here.
Largest Dart landowners by riverside / bank ownership
| Location | Owner | Category | Hectares owned | Fro
ntage (km) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmoor Estate | Duchy of Cornwall | Crown | 27,221 | 45.3 |
| Spitchwick Estate | Castle Management Trust (Gibraltar Registered) | Aristocracy / Gentry | 1,620 | 19.0 |
| Multiple Sites | National Trust | NGO / Charity | 1,047 | 11.2 |
| Multiple Sites | Forestry Commission | Government | 1,427 | 9.3 |
| South Devon Railway | South Devon Railway Trust | Corporate | 34 | 7.0 |
| Raleigh Estate | Sir John Edward Victor Rose | New Money | 430 | 5.5 |
| Sharpham | The Sharpham Trust | NGO / Charity | 226 | 5.4 |
| Dartington Hall Estate | Dartington Hall Trust | NGO / Charity | 495 | 4.5 |
| Multiple Sites | Dartmoor National Park Authority | Government | 679 | 3.6 |
| Totnes | South Hams District Council | Government | 20 | 3.4 |
| Buckfast | Buckfast Abbey | Church | 157 | 3.2 |
| Buckfast to Totnes | Dart Valley Railway PLC | Corporate | 25 | 3.1 |
| Staverton Estate | Church Commissioners for England | Church | 586 | 2.9 |
| Multiple Sites | South West Water | Corporate | 35 | 2.7 |
| Higher Weston Farm | Ian James Widdecombe | Farm | 101 | 2.4 |
| Hood-Barton Estate | David L C White & Hilary White | New Money | 97 | 2.2 |
| Berry Pomeroy Estate | 19th Duke of Somerset | Aristocracy / Gentry | 1,150 | 2.0 |
| Dartmouth | Dartmouth Town Council | Government | 8 | 1.9 |
| Old Vicarage Farm | Old Vicarage Farm | Farm | 49 | 1.8 |