Exmoor National Park could have to sell off publicly owned woodland and moorland, close its educational and visitor centres and give up management of 620 miles of pathways as it struggles with a severe funding gap.
Sarah Bryan, chief executive of the park, said: “I have worked in national parks for nearly 30 years and I have never seen it anywhere near as bad as this.”
In a letter to the chancellor Jeremy Hunt, the Campaign for National Parks said government funding for national parks had fallen by 40% in real terms over the past decade, with those in England and Wales facing further combined cuts of £16m over the next three years.
