AN exciting plan to develop a major visitor centre at Cookworthy Forest near Halwill will be unveiled at a special meeting next week.

People living near Cookworthy will get the first chance to see initial draft designs and hear more about the proposed centre next Wednesday (March 31).

Devon Wildlife Trust has earmarked Cookworthy as one of the sites in its plan to develop a network of visitor centres to interpret particular habitats and areas.

The idea for a visitor centre is in its early stages and a drop-in public consultation event is being staged next week to offer people the chance to air their views on the initial draft drawings by the architect.

Dominie Dunbrook, project development officer with West Devon Business Information Point, which is assisting the Wildlife Trust with the preparation of a business plan, said all were welcome to the meeting.

?It is quite a big project. We want to engage the local community and see what their thoughts are,? she said.

The centre would be a high profile rural visitor attraction intended to promote ?the Living Landscape?.

The trust hopes the centre will be a focus for sustainable tourism, rural regeneration, environmental and cultural activities, encouraging visitors to venture out and explore the natural world.

Miss Dunbrook said plans to develop the centre as a green tourism resource would help to raise the profile of businesses and attractions in the area with an environmental or cultural theme.

The aim of the centre is also to provide a focal point and resource for many of the existing initiatives working in the area, including the partnership Ruby Country Initiative, and the Wildlife Trust?s Green Gateway project.

The trust say business and interpretation plans have been produced together with architects? drawings for a building with its own ?WOW? factor and which is likely to use lots of natural materials to maintain the environmental theme.

Representatives from Devon Wildlife Trust, West Devon Business and Information Point and Grainge Architects will be available to discuss the plans at the drop-in consultation event being held at Halwill Village Hall next Wednesday (March 31) from 6.30pm.