STAFF at Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) had to be paid from reserves for two months afer the usual government funding didn’t arrive in time.

The authority is writing to nature minister Mary Creagh to say the delay in the national park grant from Defra, which pays for day-to-day operations and the 90-strong workforce, had “real impact” and that “every penny is important” to the financially strapped park authority.

DNPA received notification of the grant on 28 May but didn’t receive the money until 16 June, even though the financial year begins on 1 April.

Chief executive Dr Kevin Bishop told a meeting of the authority on Friday that this was the latest the money had ever gone into the bank account or notification of it received.

“It means we were using our reserves to fund the authority’s operation in April and May due to this delay. It might be a small point but it means we have lost interest payments on that money and it does not fit right with Defra telling us we to develop other income streams.”

The authority is looking for ways to become more self-financing following 15 years of funding cuts, with the largest ever this year representing a 13 per cent reduction on the 2024/25 grant.

Unlike other parts of the public sector, including local authorities, DNPA has not received any support for the increase in employer national insurance contributions.

It is looking at how it can use an uplift in capital funding of £1.4 million for projects and investments to buy property and possibly more car parks to bring in an income which will be then used to pay staff.

National park authority members said they wanted some “formal written feedback” from Defra on the disappointment of having their funding delayed.