Possible new air gun range

[BigFatWilson]

So currently looking into opening a shooting range in north tyneside, I’ve spoken to the police, and they said it’s nothing to do with them as it’s sub 12, I then called the nra and they advised me that I wouldn’t need planning permission, is this true? All they said is to provide a sufficient back stop and make sure the boarding is thick enough as to not be penetrated by the pellet, The building it currently a industrial unit, but has windows either side, that require bording up, already in the process of doing so, will be 60m long with 12 lanes, could anyone point me in the right direction on who to speak to for a bit more advice, would be hugely appreciated

[Rich]

I suggest you talk to Brian Samson who has gone through this process at a disused building in Doncaster.

Brian did need planning permission and he also needed to persuade the environmental officer about the noise from the building and the shooting activity regarding potential complaints.

Edit: you are right that the police have no official role to play if you keep sub 12, but it will pay in the long run to keep them informed. If you want grant assistance then the tacit support of the police will be valuable.

[BigFatWilson]

I suggest you talk to Brian Samson who has gone through this process at a disused building in Doncaster.

Brian did need planning permission and he also needed to persuade the environmental officer about the noise from the building and the shooting activity regarding potential complaints.

Edit: you are right that the police have no official role to play if you keep sub 12, but it will pay in the long run to keep them informed. If you want grant assistance then the tacit support of the police will be valuable.

Is Brian Samson on the forum? I can’t foresee the noise being a issue as it’s on a industrial estate, will phone the planning department tomorrow tho to ask more

[Brian.Samson]

You do need planning permission for change of use.

Part of that planning permission will involve questions like flood risk, highways agency assessments and environmental assessments (noise).

[Brian.Samson]

Is Brian Samson on the forum? I can’t foresee the noise being a issue as it’s on a industrial estate, will phone the planning department tomorrow tho to ask more

Hopefully there won't be an issue - but just being on an existing industrial estate doesn't automatically make it ok to open an airgun range.

The planning office will want to know what the existing ambient noise level is on the estate. If it's already a noisy estate and there aren't any residential dwellings nearby that will go in your favour substantially.

My range is in a similar situation - the nearest residential dwelling is 100m away ( some houseboats ), the restriction placed on my range was that the noise level outside the range didn't exceed a certain limit (can't remember what it was but it's quite a high level). I was also restricted to Airguns only and there was talk of a restriction on how late in the evening I could open, although I side stepped that one.

The moral of all of that is that things are rarely as simple as you think - is the industrial estate open and just as noisy on a Sunday? or after 8pm at night? - are these times when you also plan to be open? Stuff like that.

The Highways agency will also want to know what your expected occupancy will be and whether there's sufficient parking to cater for the increase in visitors without blocking up side roads etc.

You said in your PM that the space was disused office space - I would look into what the rateable value of that space is also - office space has a much higher rateable value than warehouse space and you could end up with a pretty huge rates bill on your hands for the area you're looking at using.

If the space was disused, there's a chance the owner may have negotiated a reduction in rates because it's just used for storage. The moment you start using it though you may become liable for the poundage on the rateable value ( if you know the address, you can look this up on the government business rates portal ).

If you're going to sign a lease for the use of the property, I would strongly advise you to get yourself a commercial lease solicitor. They'll often do a free initial consultation and highlight some things you might not have thought about. Also when it comes to signing a lease - you really really really NEED a solicitor, you can get heavily stung to the tune of tens of thousands of pounds on a commercial lease. Paying a grand for a solicitor is money extremely well spent.

Getting planning permission was a drawn out process for us when we went for it - it'll cost you around £750 to submit an application - don't bother with the cheaper preliminary permission application, it's a waste of time. Don't sign a lease until you have planning permission, and don't sign one until you know what the rateable value will be. Rates can end up costing more than rent.

[DedIdick]

You'll also need to check with environmental busybodies re the issues with lead & ventilation.

[BigFatWilson]

Spoke to the planning department today about the costs, 400 for the change of use application, before that tho I was going to try and get some of the local councilers to try and support it...haven’t yet applied but will be soon, hopefully goes ahead

[TonyL]

Top info from our Bri.

[Rich]

It will help to get the local district councillor on board. Try to sell him/her the benefits to the community, users bringing money into the area etc, sustainable use of a disused building etc.

Most planning applications are decided by officers under delegated powers. It helps if the councillor can have an informal chat with them, short of applying influence.

The noise issue can probably be overcome with reasoned argument and some calculations.

[Brian.Samson]

Spoke to the planning department today about the costs, 400 for the change of use application, before that tho I was going to try and get some of the local councilers to try and support it...haven’t yet applied but will be soon, hopefully goes ahead

We were given the run around for a couple of months until we got our MP involved ( Ed Milliband ) He put us onto a councillor who might be sympathetic to our cause and happened to be on the planning committee. Low and behold, after months of being passed around, phone calls and emails not being returned etc etc.. all of a sudden within 2 weeks we had our planning permission signed off.

The cost of submitting a planning application goes up to almost double if your building is more than 1000 square metres.

[Powderfinger]

A copy of the range construction manual published by the NSRA might be worth buying. It is also important to consider whether it is best to run the range as a club or as a business.