Peninsular Firearm Academy, St Ives Pistol Club push for more shooting hours, firing ranges
Plans for more shooting hours and firing ranges at two northern beaches gun clubs have received massive support, but some locals are worried about increases in annoying noise.
Manly
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Sydney gun enthusiasts are on target for greater access to two northern beaches firing ranges.
The Peninsular Firearm Academy (PFA) at Belrose is pushing to increase the number of days it offers target shooting, proposing to open five days a week instead of the current one day a month.
Meanwhile, its next door neighbour, St Ives Pistol Club, has applied to the Northern Beaches Council to add five more handgun ranges to its 60-year-old facility on Mona Vale Rd.
Since both development applications went on public exhibition earlier this year, a total of close to 300 submissions have been lodged supporting the proposals.
There were 35 objections to the extended shooting hours at the PFA, and 21 opposed to the increasing the size of the pistol club.
Most of the complaints were about increased noise for residents of Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest as well as the impact on wildlife in neighbouring Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.
The PFA, which has operated since 2019 and has 350 members, wants to offer shooting from Tuesday to Saturday — and on Wednesday nights — as well as one Sunday a month.
Both development applications are going before the Northern Beaches Local Planning Panel on December 4.
In its assessment reports for the independent panel, the council has recommend the plans for both facilities be approved.
In a submission on the proposed increase in firing ranges at the pistol club, which has more than 500 members, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service expressed concern about issues “associated with the accumulative impact of lower-level noise when measured over time”.
“This impact should consider the effects on wildlife, the effects on the amenity value of park users, especially on weekends, and the effect on residents,” the submission stated.
The Terrey Hills Progress Association submitted it was concerned about increased noise for residents in Terrey Hills and Duffys Forest.
“Specifically, we seek assurances that membership numbers and hours of operation of the club are not increased and that there is no night-time use,” association president Paul Davenport wrote.
Bruce Peters, a former pistol club captain, argued its plan added “value to the area” and “brings significant benefits to the local economy”.
“We have had national, international and Olympic competitors as valued members,” Mr Peters wrote.
The Belrose Rural Community Association opposed the extended hours at the PFA.
“The continuous ongoing noise throughout the week will have a detrimental effect on all nearby residents,” president Conny Harris wrote.
The Duffys Forest Residents Association pointed out that the development application proposed a “24-fold increase in hours of operation (shooting) from 90 to 2236 hours per annum”.
PFA chairman Tony Garland submitted that the proposal followed guidelines set out by regulatory bodies including the council, NSW Environmental Protection Authority, Rural Fire Service and the NSW Firearms Registry.
“Objections to the (development application) have come from a handful of supposedly ‘local’ residents calling themselves neighbours,” he wrote.
“The fact is the nearest and only local neighbour’s boundary (not residence) is about 800m metres away and hidden behind an 18-metre high dirt mound, built for the purpose of acoustically shielding this neighbour from any offensive noise.
“Other ‘neighbours’ are some kilometres away.”
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