AN EXTRAORDINARY meeting of Dartmoor Forest Parish Council is being held next week to deliberate on a planning application for a proposed whisky distillery and visitor’s centre in Princetown.

The meeting is due to be held on Friday, January 20 at 7.30pm at Princetown Community Centre and is open to all residents in the parish, which includes Princetown, Postbridge and Hexworthy.

As the proposed site for the distillery lies within Dartmoor National Park, the Dartmoor National Park Authority will make the final decision on the application, which is proposed for land west of the public car park on Station Road, Princetown.

However, parish councils are consulted by the relevant planning authority on all planning applications. Any views expressed by the parish council will be taken into account by the planning authority before a decision is made, providing the points made are relevant to the determination of a planning application.

A spokesperson for the parish council said: ‘As this is the biggest planning application in Dartmoor Forest for some time, the council has decided to hold an extraordinary meeting to hear from the applicant Princetown Distillers Ltd and the comments of local residents before submitting any views to Dartmoor National Park. Dartmoor Forest Parish Council encourages all residents of the parish to attend.’