Ommm! Dalai Lama wins battle to shut down Scottish firing range
BUDDHIST monks have won a battle to have a shooting range that is located near their famous Scots monastery shut down.
Rokpa Trust, owners of Kagyu Samye Ling Monastery and acting on behalf of spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, said the peace of their haven had been shattered by gunfire.
The retreat at Eskdalemuir, Dumfriesshire, has attracted thousands of visitors since it was founded in 1967 and inaugurated by the Dalai Lama. Its guests have included music legends David Bowie and Leonard Cohen. Dumfries and Galloway Council slapped an enforcement notice on the range at Clerkhill after work was carried out to create a car park, target areas and a toilet block.
Officials said the work was finished without planning permission.
The range’s owner, Eskdalemuir Forestry Ltd, turned to the Scottish Government in an effort to overturn the planners’ ruling.
It argued that there has been no ‘material change’ of use and it should be allowed.
However, the council’s decision has now been upheld.
In a letter to the Scottish Government, the monks had said: ‘On March 17, 2021, the representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama urged the planning department not to grant permission for shooting ranges, which are so damaging to the area’s peace and quality of life. The monastery and retreat centre is dedicated to prayer and meditation and in particular prayers for peace.
‘A shooting range in close proximity to the monastery and the retreat centre is detrimental to these religious practices.’
They also described gunfire as ‘incompatible with the quiet rural setting’ of the area.
But Eskdalemuir Forestry Ltd said: ‘It is not considered the car park, targets and training centre are causing any planning issue or giving rise to any amenity issues.’
Government reporter Nick Smith said: ‘The appeal has failed on all grounds. I have considered all of the matters and found none that would lead me to reach a different conclusion. I dismiss the appeal and uphold the enforcement notice.’
The monastery was the first of its kind established by Tibetan Buddhists in the West following the Chinese invasion of Tibet in 1959.
‘Detrimental to religious practices’