Club hopes to get a shot at setting up base at venue
PLANS to establish a clay pigeon shoot at a Derbyshire venue could be waved through, as an extension to its operating hours has been recommended for approval.
Harboro Rocks Clay Shoot, in Manystones Lane, Brassington, currently has permission under permitted development rights to operate over 28 days of the year, but the club has been operating well beyond that, welcoming guns around 215 days per year.
Now the club’s officials want to apply for planning permission to change the use of the land from agricultural land to mixed-use agricultural land and an official home for the shoot.
The club currently has 95 members, according to a report by Derbyshire Dales District Council’s planning officer Gareth Griffiths, and this number is growing with each event.
Being allowed to open the club up to members on more days of the year would mean members could avoid travelling long distances to other venues to enjoy the sport, according to the applicant.
The next nearest club, they say, is around 40 minutes away and allowing extra days for the Harboro Rocks shoot to operate would secure two full-time, nine part-time and four self-employed jobs at the venue.
But while Brassington Parish Council did not object to the application, Carsington and Hopton
Parish Council did, saying: “The prospect of the noise of gunfire reverberating throughout the parish 18 hours a day, seven days a week, is intrusive, to say the very least.”
Ible Parish Council also wrote in with a series of objections, and 42 individuals submitted letters of objection, with the main concerns being over noise.
However, a noise assessment carried out by the applicant, supported by a further official noise assessment commissioned for the application, found no major concerns, and the report outlines a string of messages of support for the plans.
Among the supporters was district councillor Sir Richard Fitzherbert, who said it was an “excellent application” and that it was to be “welcomed by all in the community.”
He also mentioned the support the shoot has given to charities in the past, and the fact the current owners have been established on the site for 10 years, with the site existing for over 40 years.
In total there were 84 letters of support for the application, many praising the opportunities it offers for local people getting into the sport, and the benefits that would be brought by allowing an extended timetable.
Summing up his reasons for recommending the plans for approval, Mr Griffiths conceded that it was an “emotive application” but pointed out the club was situated next to an industrial site which can be heard from Brassington.
He also noted concerns over vehicle movements, and the effect the club’s activities might have on the enjoyment of people using the adjacent High Peak Trail bridleway.
But in his conclusion, he wrote: “There are clear benefits to having a permanent site within the district for clay pigeon shooting, which could attract visitors from throughout the country, and internationally, to the area and the benefits this will undoubtedly bring to tourism and spending in the district.
“This may also bring benefits to local businesses such as holiday accommodation and public houses, for example, with customers of the clay shooting business using such local facilities.”
District councillors can now decide whether to follow the recommendation and approve the plans, or to vote against the recommendation and turn them down when they meet at Matlock Town Hall on Tuesday.
There are clear benefits to having a permanent site within the district for clay pigeon shooting.
Report