Ellesmere College abandons bid for shooting range on site
A Shropshire school has withdrawn its plans to improve its shooting facilities after they were met with a storm of opposition – including a petition featuring more than 100 signatures.
Ellesmere College has pulled the plug on a proposal to create a shooting range on site in order to maintain good relations with its neighbours.
The proposal came under fire from residents living in nearby Tetchill who raised concerns about noise.
The school said it had planned to create the range in order to meet British Shooting standards and there was only one location it could go on the site.
Nick Pettingale, spokesman for Ellesmere College, said: "Ellesmere College is one of the top shooting schools in the country, following its recent achievement of capturing the most prestigious award in British Schools Rifle Shooting, the Ashburton Shield.
"In order to maintain its success the school wished to improve its shooting facilities and offer the full range of Olympic disciplines to its students.
"The school planned to install a shooting skeet in order to meet British Shooting standards.
"There was only one location on campus which met the joint requirements of shooting away from the sun, and accommodating a 250 metre safety radius from the shooting point.
"Ellesmere College was in talks with Shropshire Council about a planning application on this site, but became aware of local objections to the plans.
"The school recognised the concerns of residents, particularly in Tetchill, and withdrew the application in order to maintain its existing good relationships with all its neighbours."
The school said the scheme would have offered year-round provision for shooting and the existing shooting range located elsewhere on site is not fit for purpose.
But Melanie Joyce, clerk of Ellesmere Rural Parish Council, which also objected to the scheme, said the proposed location was too close to people's homes.
"Members raised concerns over potential ground pollution from lead discharge from the guns which could have a serious impact on the nearby canal and wildlife," she said.
Resident Katie Jones said: "The roads in and around Tetchill and Ellesmere College are already unsuitable for the amount and type of traffic they support. Anything that may increase traffic volume is going to cause safety issues for local residents.
"The proposed use would clearly have a serious and adverse impact on noise levels.
"Tetchill is a quiet village, which is why many residents have chosen to live there. The proposal would substantially increase local noise levels to an unacceptable degree."
