£2 million treetop attraction plans unveiled

A toboggan ride was previously withdrawn

An adventure company has unveiled a £2 million plan for a treetop attraction in the Tamar Valley, a year after withdrawing a hugely controversial toboggan ride scheme through ancient woodland.

Zip World is proposing to create a 400 metre zip rail under the tree canopy at the Tamar Trails at Gulworthy which will cover an area a third of the size of that proposed for the gravity fuelled alpine coaster.

The coaster plan application was withdrawn last year after huge public outcry and opposition from Gulworthy and Tavistock parish councils and Calstock Parish Council over the border in Cornwall.  Residents said the scheme looked more at home in a funfair than an area of outstanding natural beauty and a world heritage site.

But under its new plans Zip World intends to fell 36 trees instead of the 300 intended to make way for the valley adrenaline ride and will plant the woodland with new native species to improve biodiversity, it says.

The company, which has adventure attractions in national parks like Snowdonia and the Lake District, revealed the new scheme at a public consultation event at the Tamar Trails on Thursday ahead of submitting a new planning application to West Devon Borough Council later this autumn.

But concerns remain as many dog walkers, horse riders and families use the trails and some feel the scheme may destroy the tranquillity of the area.

Tamar Trails currently houses the Tree Surfers ‘high ropes adventure’ with walkways and zip wires, but it is low key and considered by locals to fit in with the ethos of the woodland, which is part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

Zip World plans to increase the car park by almost 100 spaces and create six full-time equivalent jobs.

Local resident Debbie Glennon believes the plan is a better environmental proposition than the previous proposal. She said: “We do need more expert reports though about the wildlife and all the protected species here. It needs to be much more than a money making scheme.”

She said the car park had always been a problem because it isn’t big enough, but Zip World needed to keep it open around the clock so people could continue to access the trails early in the morning and later in the evening during the summer.

Fleur Forer, who runs a Facebook page called Tamar Trails Happy Hackers with more than 1,000 off-road horseriding members, said the area is a safe place to ride.

“We are passionate about having the ability to maintain access from the Tree Surfers end safely for horses so we can still park here and ride.

“The area is beautiful; Devon at its finest. You have all the heritage sites, the beautiful Tamar river winding through, there are brooks and little streams. It’s just a beautiful place to come and switch off for a few hours and chill out.

“As long it is doesn’t negatively impact on the environment or upset the locals who are in striking range of hearing the noise, as the noise pollution is a big issue; if they can tick those boxes and it is a really safe place for everyone to enjoy then this time their plans might go through.”

Heritage consultant for the project Rob Kinchin-Smith said the company had a good track record of installing environmentally sensitive schemes in protected areas of the country, but ultimately it is up to West Devon Borough Council to make sure the application is right for the area.

He said the zip rail would be situated between the two current tree adventure courses and would enhance the experience of people coming to visit.

“There will be a limited amount of thinning of plantation trees and the rails will be under the canopy of the trees so will not be visible from a distance,” he said. “Much of the ecology is on the woodland floor and any loss of ecology will be negligible.

“Also the zip rail will have one person at a time on it, there will not be car loads of people screaming down through the woods.”

Mr Kinchin-Smith said people would be better informed about the mining heritage features because of new interpretation boards. The application is an opportunity for better management of the environment at Tamar Trails, which has 25km of walking trails as well as mountain biking trails and hosts a weekly park run.

West Devon District Councillor for Gulworthy Isabel Saxby (Lab) said 17 protected species are on the site and the company needs to prioritise the environment in its application, but she is impressed by what she has seen so far.