Salford outdoor activity centre approved despite ‘gun noise’ concerns from neighbours

An outdoor activity centre based in Botany Bay Woods in Salford has been granted approval despite concerns over excess noise and impact on wildlife.

Adventure Now is already in operation boasting activities such as archery, crossbowing, axe throwing, air rifle shooting, quad biking, bushcraft, orienteering as well as team building exercises and education provision.

Complaints raised at the Planning and Transportation Regulatory Panel spoke of increased noise from the area for residents in Boothstown and Grange Road who have said they can hear the guns from clay pigeon shooting.

The complaints say this increase in noise adds on to the traffic noise coming from the motorway and the aircraft from Barton Aerodrome.

Coun Robin Garrido, who represents the affected Worsley and Westwood Park ward was in attendance at the meeting at Embankment. His concern was with the increased noise impacting on nearby residents.

“My ward is most affected by this application because of the access. Grange Road takes access from Barton Road. 

“Not all of Grange Road has a footpath. People are having to walk on the road in parts.

“There have already been problems with traffic along that road but fortunately there have not been any accidents yet. The residents are concerned that accidents could happen in future with an increase in attendance on this site. 

“I am very concerned about the access arrangements. I am concerned that we are getting more of these retrospective applications and it seems to me that these applicants haven’t thought too much about anyone else other than themselves and carried on doing what they want to do.”

Coun Garrido went on to highlight that the metal containers at the site were not in keeping with the area concurred with residents who were also worried that this application may impact on wildlife. The concerns raised by Coun Garrido and nearby residents were addressed by the applicant at the meeting.

“We want to reassure you that it is a family business that we set up in the woods,” applicant Mark Senior said. “From day one we have done all we can to make this fit within the woodlands around.

“The [quad bike] track has been the same since we started and we have just maintained that track. It is really tightly controlled so an instructor is at the front and the back of the group who are on really small quad bikes.

“We are very much keen to be in keeping with doing the right thing in the woods.”

The application was approved upon the condition that the size of quad bikes used in the area was restricted to smaller vehicles following a point raised by Coun Philip Cusack. He said that the noise produced by the bigger quad bikes – which the applicant said they did not use anyway – was a different animal entirely to the smaller ones.