Jedburgh: Hut shooting gets green light despite wildlife concerns

Scottish Borders Council has approved a retrospective planning application for a timber shooting hut from Lothian Estates Shooting Partnership on land west of Coldhough Bank in Jedburgh.

The hut will be used as a gathering point for shooting days where the shooters meet, rest, have lunch and finish the action.

Dr. Melanie Findlay objected to the hut on several grounds, including the lack of an ecological assessment, its impact on European protected species and its location in what was an “unpolluted and undeveloped area of ​​Oxnam water”.

Lisa MacLeish, secretary of the Scottish Central Borders Wildlife Group, also highlighted concerns about the application, saying there were records of otters and badgers in the immediate area and that the work “appears to have been carried out in the bird’s breeding season”.

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She said: “We are disappointed that surveys of protected species have not been carried out and that mitigation measures have not been put in place.

“We are requiring mitigation measures, as well as otter surveys and habitat assessments being conducted to inform mitigation.”

In his report recommending approval of the hut, Ewan Calvert, the council’s assistant planning officer, said: “The business plan articulates the functional and operational need for the hut on this particular site. There is evidence of employment generation.

“The building is intended as a lunch hut and is central to surrounding game drives to reduce the need for additional travel by guests and staff.”