VOTE: Should Midhurst Gun Club have been allowed to continue clay pigeon shooting on Stedham Common?
The former chairman of a clay pigeon shooting club has criticised ‘nature-supporting extremists’ for the forced closure of the group.
Midhurst Gun Club was based at Stedham Common for 50 years. But in 2009 the owner of the common, Sussex Wildlife Trust, gave it a year’s notice to quit.
The common is a nature reserve and part of the Stedham and Iping Commons site of special scientific interest, but the trust said the monthly clay pigeon shoots were an ‘inappropriate’ activity on a nature reserve.
But in his final speech to club members at an event at the Country Inn, Bepton, former chairman John Baron made clear his own views.
He said all the club members were concerned for the environment and wildlife.
“It is important that nature-supporting extremists should not promote their causes to the exclusion of others but find ways of helping each other to co-exist and mutually enjoy the benefits of our local countryside.
“Hopefully this is something the new South Downs National Park Authority will be taking into consideration,” Mr Baron said.
The club held its last shoot at the end of 2010. Since then its former officers have officially wound up Midhurst Gun Club Ltd at Companies House and cleared the area of the common the club used. It has now also disposed of remaining club assets.
Mr Baron made his comments at a cheque presentation evening at the Country Inn, where funds of £5,596 were distributed among three charities and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation’s Young Shots Programme.
Mr Baron told the Observer club members were pleased some good was coming out of the closure, and to be able to provide a legacy supporting the future of its sport through the Young Shots Programme.
“Despite many years of trouble-free activity the club was forced to leave their ground at Stedham Common when Sussex Wildlife Trust decided that they wanted exclusive use of the land and the gun club was no longer welcome,” Mr Baron said.”
“Being unable to find an alternative site the members decided the best thing to do was to go out with a positive bang and dispose of the club’s assets by donating funds to various charities the club has supported over the years plus the club’s affiliate society, the British Association for Shooting and Conservation.”
The charities chosen to receive £1,000 were: the voluntary transport organisation, Tandem; Chichester Coronary Care Club; and the Children’s Air Ambulance appeal.
Cheques were presented to representatives of the three, and to Dan Reynolds of BASC Young Shots Programme, which received the remainder.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Midhurst
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
Comments
There are 1 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
Abby S
Friday, September 30, 2011 at 09:47 AMThis is a disappointing and obviously biased piece of journalism. Nowhere in the article do you state the case for why the club was asked to leave. Clay pigeon shooting is an inappropriate activity for a nature reserve. I can only assume that the noise will disturb wildlife, particularly in sensitive times such as the breeding season. There could also be an issue of the falling clays. Covering the reserve in broken clays could increase risk of injury to wildlife. The facts they seem to have spent a year cleaning up the reserve and their inability to find another site to operate from implies the damaging nature of the activity. In the spirit of fair journalism I think the Wildlife Trust should be given the opportunity to explain why they evicted the club.
Page 1 of 1
Your view
Please sign in to be able to comment on this story.