Campaigners lose battle with gun club

CAMPAIGNERS fighting to block plans for a clay pigeon shooting club close to a nature reserve at Warrington have lost their battle.
A Government-appointed planning inspector has ruled in favour of the Prospect Farm Clay Pigeon Shooting Club at Rixton.
Geoff Settle (pictured), chairman of the Warrington Nature Conservation Forum said: “We are bitterly disappointed with the outcome of the public inquiry and the impact that the club will now have on the community and wildlife of Rixton Moss – particularly the rich variety of endangered bird species in the area.
“The shooting club has now been given the green light to go ahead and inflict noise on the local community and wildlife.
“We will continue to record data and submit our wildlife sightings,
particularly birds on the Red and Amber list, on the Cheshire Local Biological database and monitor any changes.
“Unfortunately the onus now falls on us to provide data for the first ever study of the impact of a clay pigeon shoot on the wildlife of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (Risley)
“This has never been done to our knowledge and hopefully the RSPB and academics can use the results as part of their research into the long term effects of such activities.”
Martin Joyce, the inspector, ruled that there were “very special circumstances” which outweighed the fact that the shooting club would normally be regarded as an inappropriate development in the Green Belt.