Shooting UK is your complete shooting resource. From gun reviews to shotgun licence and firearms certificate information, to clay pigeon shooting, game shooting, shooting lessons and gundog training.
By Selena Masson, Shooting Times
Tuesday, 05 February 2008
A world-famous shooting estate is facing a bill of more than £500,000 after it was found guilty of laying a track on protected moorland.
Natural England (NE) accused Wemmergill estate in Teesside, owned by entrepreneur Michael Cannon, of damaging a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
On 28 January, Wemmergill Moor Ltd was charged under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act and hit with a £50,000 fine, a legal bill for £237,500 and ordered to carry out an estimated £220,000 of restoration work to return the moor to its former condition.
In a statement to Shooting Times, a spokesman for the estate said: “Wemmergill Moor Ltd accepts the outcome of the proceedings before Durham Crown Court. [We] recognise that a small element of work within the restoration programme was inappropriately allocated to construction rather than maintenance, and have pleaded guilty to three charges.”
On the 28-square-mile Wemmergill estate, about 12 miles of track has been repaired and upgraded as part of the restoration programme. The section of track at the centre of the row is just half a mile long.
Originally NE allowed tracks to ensure all parts of the estate were accessible for conservation purposes. NE claimed that the track which prompted the legal action was not covered by the agreement. The estate was initially charged in relation to two sections of track, but it was argued that the work carried out to the second section was maintenance rather than construction and NE agreed not to pursue this point further.
Designed with the younger shooter in mind, the .410 over-and-under Yil... Read more
Don't miss this week's issue (on sale Wednesday 16th May). FREE PRIZE DRAW: Win a Browning T-bolt.22 and Winchester ammo. Graham Downing gives his tips on where to find the best foreign sport! For all this and a whole lot more buy your copy today!
Save up to 31% on a subscription to Shooting Times & Country Magazine, subscribe today and perfect gift this Christmas.
Comments