Eskdalemuir duck shooting pond bid taken to Scottish Government appeal
The applicants, Eskdalemuir Forestry, have bypassed Dumfries and Galloway Council and gone straight to Holyrood due to delays
Last updated 12th Jul 2023
A controversial bid to gain planning permission for two duck shooting ponds in Langholm is to be reviewed by the Scottish Government.
The applicants, Eskdalemuir Forestry, have bypassed Dumfries and Galloway Council and gone straight to Holyrood due to delays in the local authority’s planning process.
The application is for retrospective approval of two wildlife ponds associated with shooting which have been created on the site at Clerkhill.
Going over council's head and straight to Holyrood
The council failed to give a decision on the plans within the required timescale, which resulted in Eskdalemuir Forestry appealing to the Scottish Government’s planning and environmental appeals division to decide its fate.
The papers were registered last week and have yet to be reviewed by the government’s planning Reporter.
This site previously hit the headlines when a nearby Buddhist monastery opposed plans for a shooting range, and there has been discontent from members of the community about the shooting practices and noise.
Alastair McKie, of planning law experts Anderson Strathern, is representing Eskdalemuir Forestry.
In the appeal papers, he stated: “The applicants are disappointed that the planning officers of the council have made no progress towards a determination of the application and wish to urgently progress matters.
“Planning Officer Katie Towner has recently indicated that the council does not wish to progress the application until a planning application is made by the applicants for a shooting range over Clerkhill.
“Whilst the applicants/appellants have undertaken a pre-application consultation exercise for that application, that development is entirely separate in use terms from the proposal.
“This application/appeal concerns the creation of ponds associated with duck shooting whereas the shooting range relates to target shooting which are different uses.
“The council have validated the application and it must be judged on its own planning merits and not held back or incorporated into a planning application for the Clerkhill target shooting range that has (as yet) not been applied for.”
Significant opposition to duck shooting ponds
Mr McKie also accepted that there is significant opposition to the duck shooting ponds, but underlined that a variety of duck species can be legally shot in Scotland during a season which runs from September to January.
He wrote: “Whist it is acknowledged that there are a number of objections to the application, it is not considered that they outweigh compelling planning arguments in favour of planning permission being granted.
“Persons who object to shooting on moral grounds are entitled to their views and opinions, but these do not form a lawful and relevant basis to object.”
Eskdalemuir Forestry said it had met with the local community council in 2019 and agreed to move the shooting into a “more remote” part of the valley further away from the village.
It created two replacement ponds for commercial duck shooting on the land and is now seeking retrospective planning permission for this work.
The planning and environmental appeals division has invited the council to respond to the applicant’s appeal by no later than July 23. However, it is unclear when the decision will be issued.