Meditation retreat takes on pistol range
The Vipassana Meditation Centre in north Auckland is heading to the High Court to stop a proposed gun club from disrupting its tranquility.
The centre is trying to overturn a certificate of compliance which would allow the Auckland Shooting Club and Range Facilities to open in its quiet neighbourhood.
Last year, Raymond O’Brien and Victoria Pichler were issued a certificate of compliance from Auckland Council for two pistol areas comprising a six-bay shooting range on their newly-acquired lifestyle block in rural Makarau.
Auckland Council manager of resource consenting Ian Dobson said it was a permitted recreational pursuit in rural areas.
O’Brien and Pichler had plans to expand the range from six bays to 30, including two shotgun ranges and a rifle range, with the backing of the Auckland Shooting Club – which would make it one of the biggest facilities of its kind in the country.
Meanwhile, down the road between rolling hills and surrounded by native bush, up to 1500 meditators a year hand in their cellphones, sit cross-legged and suspend all connection with the outside world for 10 days while they observe their breathing in silence.
Vipassana meditators were not the only ones upset with the plans – other neighbours to the Tuhirangi Rd property were angry they weren’t consulted. Many found out about the plans by accident on the club’s website.
Auckland Council maintains neighbours don’t need to be consulted for a certificate of compliance and the bigger plan didn’t need to be taken into account, as resource consents would be needed.
‘‘Without having received a resource consent application to assess, we cannot determine what parts of their proposals would require a resource consent,’’ Dobson said.
While not a direct neighbour, the Vipassana Meditation Centre had concerns noise from the gun club would be a distraction for meditators who had been coming to their nearby property for quiet contemplation for more than 30 years. The Vipassana Trust’s case will be heard in the Auckland High Court in mid-June.
Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett will officially open the Auckland Shooting Club and Range Facilities on July 7, but it would be open to general membership on July 1.