Shooting estate is in firing line over gun noise
ONE of Britain’s leading estates for pheasant shooting is under fire – over the noise from guns.
William Tyrwhitt-Drake, whose ancestor was a godson of Spanish Armada victor Sir Francis Drake, is accused of disturbing the “tranquil” South Downs by hosting the shooting parties.
The 76-year-old – who recently said in a magazine interview that “game shooting has never been more popular” – is fighting an application for a noise abatement order brought by his neighbour, Cambridge-educated Dr Charles Gillies O’Bryan-Tear.
Dr O’Bryan-Tear, 63, who works in the pharmaceutical industry, lives in a £2million seven-bedroom home on the edge of Mr Tyrwhitt-Drake’s stunning 2,500-acre Bereleigh estate in Hampshire.
Field sports journal Shooting Gazette has listed the estate among the top 20 in the UK for pheasant shooting.
But at Portsmouth magistrates court, acoustic expert Peter Rogers said he made 15 visits to Dr O’BryanTear’s home while businessmen were enjoying £300-a-head game and clay pigeon shoots on the Bereleigh estate.
Mr Rogers concluded there was a disturbance to the “tranquil environment”. He told the court: “It is important to consider whether the impact is intolerable and causes considerable disruption to what people endure.”
“People don’t know when the shooting will start or stop and when they will have to stop what they are doing and go inside.
“The level of intrusion is substantial and this is my view following my 25 years experience carrying out sound measurements.”
He added: “To give an example, planning permission would not normally be granted at the level of noise from the gun shooting.
“I conclude there is a nuisance, in my opinion.”
However, Tyrwhitt-Drake’s sound expert, John Grant, told the court the noise was within reasonable levels.
Dr O’Bryan-Tear’s complaint relates to the sound of guns between July 2016 and January 2017.
Sir Francis Drake was godfather to the Tyrwhitt-Drakes’ ancestor, Richard Drake, who was an equerry to the court of Queen Elizabeth in the late 16th century.
In 2016, the Tyrwhitt-Drake family made headlines after they announced they were selling the family’s painting of Elizabeth I – 400 years after it was first owned by Sir Francis Drake.
The hearing continues.