A BLUEPRINT has been drawn up for a log cabin holiday complex — including a ski slope — on the outskirts of Tavistock.

The proposal to transform the former quarry at Wilminstone includes numerous other sporting facilities and has been backed by Tavistock Chamber of Commerce, Tourist Information and several local schools.

Owner and developer David Trathen, who has just bought the four and a half acre site to the north of the A386 Tavistock to Okehampton road, submitted an outline planning application to the borough council last week.

He told the Times: 'The holiday complex will be made up of eight lodges containing 16 bunks and four more luxurious cabins built around the two-acre lake.

'We would be able to accommodate minibus size, coach size and individual tourists.'

He said he had talked to a number of schools and the prison service who had expressed an interest in using the sports facilities.

The lake would be the focus of the complex with boat-house, cafe and restaurant.

'We hope to have windsurfing, rowing and canoeing on the lake,' said Mr Trathen.

The natural slope of the quarry would be used to build a ski slope, and in the quarry itself, there are plans for squash courts and a skateboarding track.

'There is a cycle track very close to the site and the idea is to open the leisure facilities to all and sundry,' said Mr Trathen. 'With my bus and coach connections, I would hope to attract the operators to the area.

'This will be good for the town offering accommodation and creating jobs.'

If the planners give the development the go-ahead, work would begin in about six months.

'There is still a great deal of work to be done but I have had letters of support for the project,' he said.

Borough council senior planning officer Edward Persse said he felt the adventure centre side of the proposal would be 'an excellent use of the site'.

'The quarry had a similar use in the 90s, although not on the same scale and only with temporary permission,' said Mr Persse. 'It is good that the former quarry will not go to waste.

'We need to look at the accommodation and other facilities proposed and assess their suitablity against local planning policies and the affect they could have on neighbouring properties.'

Headmaster of neighbouring Kelly College Mark Turner said he welcomed the idea as long as the development was not on too large a scale and was appropriate to the area.

'We would certainly use the extra sporting facilities and would be able to book clients, who come to the Adventure Centre, into the accommodation there,' said Mr Turner.

'I am not sure about squash courts — we have two here which are hardly used and so has the town.

'At the moment Wilminstone is a dead area and not used for anything in particular. But it is a wildlife habitat with peregrine falcons and I would want to make sure the wildlife was not harmed.'

Chairman of the chamber of commerce Barry Highfield said the proposed development was likely to attract more tourists to the area and create local jobs.

'Clearly, we haven't spent a lot of time looking at the outline application but we think, on the whole, it is a good thing for Tavistock' he said.

The application is likely to go before planners towards the end of next month.