A PRINCETOWN business has hit out at the planned closure of the village visitor centre which businesses say will be a disastrous loss for the community.

The Dartmoor National Park Visitor Centre (leased from the Duchy of Cornwall) is set to close at the end of March next year.

Businesses are worried the closure, due to a shortfall in Government funding to Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA), will make it unviable for them to stay in the village

Nikki Hirst, who jointly owns the Rambler’s Rest B&B in Princetown with husband Terry, said: “We are a very disappointed business in Princetown. Losing the visitor centre entirely would be devastating for our village. Princetown’s visitor centre attracts around 50,000 visitors annually—why divert these people elsewhere?

“It may be that the national park may have plans to set up elsewhere, but if so, this hasn't been communicated to us. Once again, decisions are being made without involving the local community, both businesses and residents.

“We are a collaborative and friendly group and feel truly let down. Instead of being celebrated as the central visitor point for the moors, we are being sidelined. Our remote location is precisely what makes Princetown unique, and promoting tourism in this beautiful area is crucial for both the national park and Devon.”

The Rambler’s Rest won an episode of the Channel 4 reality series Four In A Bed, which sees accommodation providers stay and assess each other’s establishments.

Businesses are uniting to express their concern, to suggest alternative way of providing the visitor centre or how to make the existing centre pay its way. Dartmoor Forest Parish Council is formally asking the Duchy of Cornwall and Prince William and the DNPA to help.

The DNPA showed the Princetown Business Network (including community groups) around the visitor centre in March this year and were told of concerns about the building’s future. They were assured that, regardless of the outcome, the DNPA would maintain some form of tourist information facility, even if scaled back.

Nikki said: “We were led to believe there was a strategy and a keen interest in developing the village. It seems we were misled.”

The Dartmoor National Park Authority said in a statement: “The proposal to close the Princetown Visitor Centre is driven by financial necessity. The authority’s core grant from Defra has almost halved in real terms since 2010/11. A one-off payment in 2022 enabled us to keep the visitor centre open until March 2025. We have a projected shortfall in our budget of £500,000 for 2025/26 and now need a longer-term sustainable funding model.

“That aside, we’re committed to working with local businesses and the community to explore options for some form of visitor information offer in the Princetown area. To our knowledge the complainant has not approached the authority directly though we welcome the opportunity for direct dialogue and, confidentiality matters aside, will do what we can to address their concerns.’