A SECOND nightclub proposal has been submitted for Tavistock on an edge-of-town site which already has planning permission for a leisure complex. The plans for Wilminstone Quarry follow hot on the heels of a controversial application by Tavistock Community Church to create a nightclub at King?s in Pixon Lane, within 100 yards of a residential area. Both schemes are being considered after the closure of the Crown Centre earlier this year which left the town without a nightclub. Planning permission for a major leisure development at Wilminstone Quarry was granted in 2001 to Trathens, who owned the site at the time, and is still valid. Current owners Candebrook Ltd are looking at a smaller scale complex, with a gym and squash courts and a skate park, but have included a nightclub which can cater for 400 to 500 people. Agent for the applicants Bob Page said that with vertical stone walls and wooded slopes, noise generated from the nightclub would be contained by the natural formation of the quarry itself. He said: ?Because this site is not within the town, courtesy transport will be provided to and from the premises. ?This way we can overcome the problems of large numbers of people gathering in one area by transporting small numbers of people, as they filter out, to their different locations. There will also be ample car parking on the site.? Mr Page said it would be a membership club so the owners could control who they allowed into the premises: ?It will be for everyone?s benefit to run it this way,? he said. The 600 square metre complex would be versatile enough to offer a small nightclub facility and a larger area at weekends. ?The club will be designed in such a way that a cosy atmosphere can be created with a small number of people on certain nights of the week,? he said. The agent added that the applicants had bought the site four years ago after Trathens had chosen not to pursue the project. He said talks had taken place with planning officers and the applicants were sensitive to the fact that the quarry was a habitat for wildlife ? peregrine falcons, kestrels and badgers were all present in the area. The proposal is likely to go before West Devon Borough Council?s planning committee in August. ?There are some parts of the original scheme which we do not consider are viable, like a dry-ski slope, and we do not want to destroy any wildlife habitats,? said Mr Page. Candebrook Ltd intends to use only the dry quarry area for its enterprise and not the flooded quarry, which was part of the earlier application to provide water sports and rock climbing. Mr Page said he did not feel the application for Wilminstone was competing with the King?s proposal. ?By offering more than one facility, people have the choice of where they go ? just like there are other leisure activities in Tavistock town centre. This way they do not have to ?like it or lump it?.? Ward member for Tavistock North Shaun Watchorn said the average age of Tavistock?s population was dropping considerably and there was a void in facilities for younger age groups. ?What we currently have here in Tavistock in the way of nightlife is not necessarily what all of our residents in their 20s, 30s and 40s want,? he said. ?There is a void and we need to address that ? the question is where to put a nightclub because no-one wants it in their backyard. ?I have not yet seen the plans for Wilminstone Quarry but there are likely to be concerns from local residents about infrastructure such as access roads, drainage and sewerage.?
