 Vixen Tor has been shut to the public since May |
Dartmoor National Park Authority has voted to take legal action to force a landowner to open one of Devon's most famous moorland landmarks. Vixen Tor, at Merrivale, near Tavistock, has been closed to the public since May by its new owner, Mary Alford.
Mrs Alford said she was advised to close it by her insurers as she could be liable if anyone injured themselves on the tor.
But the National Park Authority voted unanimously at a meeting to take the very rare step of imposing an access order - though it will defer any action for two years.
Private land
That is when the government's Right to Roam legislation will come into force - and Vixen Tor is one of the areas expected to be included under that law.
Such a move should save the authority a potentially long and costly legal fight.
Nicknamed by some as the "Sphinx of Dartmoor", Vixen Tor is popular with walkers, sightseers and rock climbers.
But when Mrs Alford closed it after buying it, it was a move which angered ramblers and climbers.
It is private land, but its previous owners have granted public access for at least 40 years.
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