A COMMUNITY initiative looking to bring production back to North Tawton's woollen mill could breathe new life into the derelict site.

Dartmoor Tweed, a firm that makes cloth using wool from sheep reared on the moor, is spearheading an initiative alongside Devon Heartlands and North Tawton's heritage group to look at alternative proposals for the regeneration of the old woollen mill site. Among the suggestions is bringing woollen production back to the mill.

The mill has been closed since 1992 when the British Wool Marketing Board closed wool stores at Buckfastleigh, Launceston and North Tawton and the business was concentrated in South Molton.

It brought an end to centuries of tradition in the town, with the woollen industry having played a key role in North Tawton's development for hundreds of years.

The team behind the initiative is holding a public meeting this Saturday (June 6) to consult with members of the public and present their ideas for the mill's future.

A spokesperson for Dartmoor Tweed said that the event on Saturday is primarily to get the community of North Tawton involved, to find out what the mill was like before, what people's opinions are of it now and what people would like to see from the site in the future.

Jack Waite, one of the project's directors, said: 'Embracing the past, the present and the future of these buildings leads us to want to create a prestigious and ambitious development for the area that is sustainable, well designed and a catalyst for a new economy of which the textile industry, arts and culture, heritage, engineering, enterprise, innovation and farming are all important aspects just as they were 300 years ago when the mill first opened its doors.

'For six months now we've been talking to local people about their hopes and visions for the site, their memories of the past and what it means to them now. There is a whole history here that can inform on its future and we're excited to see how that can develop beyond the housing which is currently planned for the site.'

The group is asking anyone who is interested to come and find out on Saturday. The event takes place in the Youth Community Centre on Barton Street from 10am to noon.