THE noise impact of high-calibre shooting is to be assessed in Eskdalemuir.
It comes after two separate applications for new shooting ranges in the area were rejected by Dumfries and Galloway Council, having both been wrongly submitted as local developments.
Since the plans first surfaced earlier this year, applicants have received considerable backlash due to the proposed ranges’ close proximity to Kagyu Samye Ling, the oldest Tibetan monastery in Europe.
However, Mr E Glendinning, who is behind the Over Cassock development, has set the wheels in motion to resubmit his application to the local authority as a major development.
And as part of the process, public and online consultations will be held so that local residents – including the community of more than 60 living at Samye Ling – can have their opinions on the proposals heard.
Further details on the consultations are expected to be published in the coming weeks.
Furthermore, a noise impact assessment will be carried out to survey the potential impact of regular gunfire at the site on those living nearby.
Mr Glendinning has tasked the Newcastle-based environmental consultancy firm, NJD, with carrying out the assessment.
In a recent letter to Dumfries and Galloway Council, NJD director Nick Dennon proposed undertaking the evaluation in accordance with guidance from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) on control of noise for clay target shooting.
Mr Dennon wrote that the guidance includes “calculating noise from clay taget shooting using the Shooting Noise Level (SNL) index”.
He added that the SNL is defined as “the logarithmic average of the 25 highest shot levels, over the 30-minute measurement period from the shoot in question”.
Samye Ling monastery and Davington Schoolhouse holiday accommodation in Eskdalemuir have been put-forward as suitable nearby locations to monitor gunshots from for the assessment. Furthermore, Mr Dennon suggested testing if shots can be heard from the village of Etterick, 11 kilometres from Over Cassock as a “worst case scenario”.
He is awaiting the council to approve his proposed methodology before proceeding.
