PROPOSALS have been announced this week for a 57-hectare eco park in North Tawton which will provide recreational and education facilities as well as generate enough solar energy to power up to 6,000 homes.

The North Tawton Eco Park on land adjacent to the North Tawton Creamery is being proposed by Kinetica Solar and aims to include an education and community resource, enhance public footpaths and wildflower meadows and increase biodiversity through the creation of new habitats, attracting a broader range of species to the area.

The renewable energy company believes the scheme will position North Tawton as an eco-tourism destination — but there are concerns locally about how the solar panels will affect the views of the site from Dartmoor.

A public exhibition of the plans was held in the town last Saturday and feedback from this is being awaited.

Project director Guy Bebbington said:?'We think the eco park will be of real benefit to the local community of North Tawton, who will be able to take advantage of the improved recreational facilities and educational tools.

'This scheme shall provide a functional, environmentally friendly visitor centre which will help establish North Tawton as an eco-tourism destination.

'We are committed to create a haven for wildlife which will be designed in conjunction with national and local groups to ensure maximum diversity and species integration through the introduction of native habitats. The site is located along the popular Tarka Trail wildlife path and walkways created through the eco park will enhance its natural setting.'

The privately funded development, which will have the potential to deliver up to 25 megawatts of renewable energy for local businesses and the National Grid, would also create a number of local employment opportunities during both the construction phase and the ongoing management of the visitor centre and maintenance of the park.

Mr Bebbington added that the public exhibition was well attended and the company was keen to continue working closely with local residents and organisations to shape plans for the project.

Feedback from the questionnaires would be reviewed along with that received from preliminary discussions held with local planners before incorporating it into the proposals, which will then be submitted to West Devon Borough Council.

Mr Bebbington said advanced enquiries had been made with a number of large power consumers in the North Tawton area, including the creamery, for whom locally generated renewable energy supplied by the development may be of both economic and sustainable benefit to them.

Borough councillor and chairman of North Tawton Town Council Nick Morgan said he believed the views from the community on the project were finely balanced at the moment.

'I am waiting for the feedback from the public consultation before I gauge the true feelings of the public but I would say there are fors and against this plan.'

He said the proposal included 37 acres of parkland.

'The concerns that have been expressed to me are that the scheme would take up valuable farmland and the views from Dartmoor would be affected. But I do think that people also understand that we need renewable energy and making this land accessible for recreational purposes is a good thing.'