At its Annual Meeting on Friday 7 July 2017 Dartmoor National Park Authority re-elected Bill Hitchins as Chairman and Maurice Retallick as Deputy Chairman of the National Park Authority.
Bill commenced his working life running a family agricultural business covering a large part of southwest Devon and Dartmoor and later developed an equestrian and pet supply business alongside a small builder's merchant outlet at Roborough. He owns a small-holding which qualifies him as a commoner with rights on Roborough Down where he served as association treasurer for 30 years.
Bill joined Bickleigh Parish Council in 1983 and become Chairman in 1987. He was elected to South Hams District Council in 1991 and appointed Deputy Leader in 1994. He has held a variety of senior offices including Chairman of the Council.
Bill's other interests include being a trustee of his local almshouse and Chairman of the Fortress Study Group. Bill is heavily involved in the provision of facilities for rugby, football, cricket and youth recreation in the Roborough area. He is also Historic Environment Champion at South Hams District Council.
Bill Hitchins said:'It’s a great honour to be re-elected Chairman by the Members of the National Park Authority. Over the forthcoming year we will continue to strengthen our current partnerships and seek out new ways of working and new partners to join with us in delivering the purposes of National Park designation. We are committed to conserving our beautiful Dartmoor landscape, wildlife and cultural heritage for the nation and to ensure that we have thriving and vibrant communities, now and into the future.’
Deputy Chairman Maurice Retallick is a farmer who has always lived in the local area. He is Chairman of Ilsington Parish Council and is a trustee of Ilsington United Charities. He is a keen member of the Authority and plays an active role on numerous committees and councils.
The Authority also re-elected James McInnes as Chair of the National Park Authority’s Development Management Committee.
At the Meeting Kevin Ball was also re-elected as Chairman of Audit and Governance.
NotesThe Authority comprises 19 Members.
Five are appointed by Devon County Council, Five by the District Councils: two from West Devon Borough Council, two from Teignbridge District Council, one from South Hams District Council.
The remaining nine Members are Government appointees. Four of these are appointed to represent parish council interests and are nominated by the parish councils on Dartmoor. The nominations are then approved by the Secretary of State. The other five Members are directly appointed by the Secretary of State to represent the national interest and are persons, usually local, with specialist knowledge of, or a particular interest in, the National Park.
The diverse membership helps provide the balance of local and national interests that is essential to the management of a National Park.
Members of the Authority do not receive a salary for their work on the Authority. However, they are eligible to receive a small monthly allowance together with reimbursement of travel and other expenses necessarily incurred on Authority business. The Authority has adopted a scheme of allowances, as required by the Environment Act 1995 and the Local Authorities (Members Allowances) (England) Regulations 2003.