UK: 'Last wilderness' to become firing range
Copyright 2001 Times Newspapers Ltd
OCTOBER 05 2001
BY LEWIS SMITH
ONE of the country’s last wildernesses is to be made into a firing range for multiple rocket launchers and long-range mobile artillery.More than 40 miles of new roads and military car parks will be built within the Northumberland National Park after a ruling yesterday that the Army can widen its use of the Otterburn training area.
Conservationists, the tourist industry, ramblers and residents were dismayed at the provisional decision by Stephen Byers, Secretary of State for Transport, Local Government and the Regions, to allow the area to be developed.
In his ruling, which followed a planning inspector’s recommendation from a public inquiry, the minister said he was “minded to approve” the development and gave the Army six weeks to agree to a series of conditions. However, most of the conditions have already been negotiated by the military and none is expected to be opposed. The development is expected to be completed in 2004 and will cost an estimated £25 million.
The Otterburn firing ranges, which date from 1912, cover 23,500 hectares, more than a fifth of the Northumberland National Park, and contain some of the country’s most threatened wildlife, including otters, black grouse and merlins. They comprise moor, bog and ancient woodland.
Sir Chris Bonington, life vice-chairman of the Council for National Parks, described the area as one of the country’s “last and most beautiful great wildernesses”. He said: “This will irreparably scar the National Park and blight people’s enjoyment of it.”
He was annoyed by the timing of the decision and accused Mr Byers of cynically manipulating concern over the threat of terrorism. He believes public access to the Otterburn section of the park will be reduced and that there will be further damage to tourism to the area, already badly hit by the foot-and-mouth epidemic.
Wildlife groups fear that animals, birds and plants will be disturbed by construction work, noise from firing, and the manoeuvring of thousands of men and vehicles for 300 days a year. There was also concern that acid vapour from rockets might poison the land.
Military experts had argued that Otterburn was the only area that could be used for the multi-launch rocket system, which fires 12 rockets in a matter of seconds, and the AP60 gun, which has a range of 15 miles. Armoured units returning from bases closing in Germany had to be found new training grounds under the 1992 Defence Review, and Salisbury could not accommodate all the returning units.