COUNCILLORS are to visit a site at Gulworthy where there are plans to put an aerial rope trekking centre.
Dartmoor Outdoor Company has applied to West Devon Borough Council to change the use of woodland at Hanging Cliff Wood into an area with rope bridges/walkways and a zip line.
The site is adjacent to the Tavistock Woodlands sawmill and is within the Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Cornwall and West Devon World Heritage Site.
Key policy issues for planners will be the creation of a recreational development in the open countryside and the AONB and the potential impacts of such a use on the amenities of the area, flora and fauna and nearby residents.
Planning officers said the site was accessed via a surfaced track from the A390 and culminated in a large car park that had been created as part of the mining heritage project. This was not within the application site but could be used by visitors to the centre.
Three letters of objection have been received by the planning authority and include concerns that it would be a 'theme park' style development and not an educational facility.
Two letters of support say that an aerial rope trekking centre would help to attract people to the area and rural businesses were important, providing employment opportunities.