DARTMOOR National Park Authority is looking to recruit a new member to represent the Dartmoor tourism and/or business sector on the panel of the Dartmoor Sustainable Development Fund (DSDF).

The fund is an annual £180,000 grant scheme, allocated to each of the English national parks, and is funded by DEFRA to encourage sustainable ways of enjoying and living within the park.

Members of the panel are expected to stimulate interest in the Sustainable Development Fund, appraise projects against agreed criteria, make recommendations to the national park authority on grant offers and make recommen-dations to the authority on fund priorities.

The fund supports projects that have a positive effect on both the environmental, economic and community well being of Dartmoor. Since its inception, the Dartmoor Fund has given grants totalling almost £1,300,000 to 188 projects and attracted an additional £5,034,000 in match funding.

Panel meetings are held five to six times a year to meet applicants and appraise their projects. The fairly informal meetings usually last three to four hours. Although the role of a DSDF panel member is not paid employment, the authority is able to pay expenses where appropriate. Further information on the fund can be found at http://www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/li-dartmoorsustdev.htm">www.dartmoor-npa.gov.uk/li-dartmoorsustdev.htm

Anyone with experience of tourism and/or business on Dartmoor, and would like to join the panel, please contact Gemma Lindley on 01626 832093 or email [email protected]">[email protected] for an application form.

The closing date for receipt of applications is Monday, October 4.