After dark firing a small price to pay??

(From Letters to the Editor, Tenby Observer 21/01/06)

Sir,

I read with interest your front page article regarding the planning application for firing after sunset at the MoD range in Manorbier. I would appreciate the opportunity to comment on the points raised within this article. It was reported that I abstained from the vote held at the meeting on the issue due to a declared interest I have in the matter. The interest I have is not personal, but relates to a request from the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park to forward my comments on the planning application based on land use considerations, by November 30, 2005. The rules governing both Pembrokeshire County Council and Manorbier Community Council state that if you have officially considered an issue, you have no alternative than to withdraw from any further discussions when a decision on the subject is debated by either organisation. Whilst I accept that opinion is divided in the area over this application, the decision taken by Pembrokeshire National Park will be on planning grounds and it was on this basis that I forwarded my reply to the National Park, that if the MoD complies with all the noise regulations, then approval should naturally follow. At the public meeting, many expressed a concern as to what the actual noise of the proposed firing would be. My response to this point, that I expressed at the meeting, was that this could only be determined by actual experience. In order to alleviate this concern, I proposed that a condition should be imposed that the consent should be for a probationary period. Major Warburton was happy at the public meeting to agree to this proposal. I believe that this proposal is the appropriate way to move the proposed planning application forward. I have listened to various comments and suggestions from residents of the area, varying from the MoD have been there a long time before most people moved to this area, that the issue does not affect residents, that some residents have no reservations and therefore do not object at all, to the converse viewpoint that children's sleep patterns will be disturbed to devastating effect to the extent that their life chances will be affected, that tourism will be negatively affected and that the fact that Manorbier is within a National Park conservation area should preclude the activity. The proposal as it stands is to move five firings from normal daylight activity to after dark for 20 days of the year when firing is proposed after sunset until 10 pm in winter and 11 pm in summer. Major Warburton stated publicly that it was the intention of the MoD to complete the firings as soon as was practically possible after sunset.

I am saddened by the attitude taken by individual councillors of Manorbier Community Council as its meeting on January 10, 2006, over this issue. Eight of the nine councillors eligible to vote clearly indicated that they opposed the application, as only Cir. Martin Davies supported the planning application. The subsequent decision to ask the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park to defer the application until after a site inspection is unusual, as the councillors have now made a judgement on the application. It is my impression that the Army has always had a good relationship with the village, with many of the older generation in the village having been provided with work for many years of their life through its presence in the locality. A letter read out at the council meeting from a lady who had been a resident of the Skrinkle estate since 1984 supported the planning application on the grounds that she had never found any problems with the firing, commenting on the fact her children had enjoyed playing on the local beach watching the planes fly overhead, comparing the memory to the situation of the current generation of the children who, having played violent games on their computers, were hardly likely to be affected by the military exercises.

It is my belief that the residents of Manorbier and the surrounding area live in an idyllic location and it would be perfect if there was no disturbance to our lifestyle. However, we as residents have to be realistic in this far from perfect world.

We should do our little bit for the sake of our nation and for those who protect our interests and those of others, both at home and abroad. The Army serves in areas of the world where this and previous national governments have deployed them on dangerous and violent missions, both in the role of peace-keeping and war.

It is not my intention to enter the debate on the issue of the justifications and objections regarding that decision, but it is a reality for which these soldiers must be prepared. We have to train service personnel on any equipment that is provided for their operational use that secures their objective and protects their lives and those of their comrades.

It is my belief that the application to move five shots per day from the normal daytime schedule for 20 days per year to after dark would be a change that most of the residents of the area would consider to be a small price to pay.

The devastating affect projected by some that the proposal would have on the tourism industry, which all tourism operators know is being affected more by the availability and cost of foreign travel, is something that I cannot agree with. It is my belief that the negative publicity that has been generated by suggesting that Manorbier will be akin to a war zone, if the application is successful, will have a more detrimental affect on those who are involved in tourism than any actual after-dark firing.

Malcolm Calver

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Note:
Malcolm Calver is the County Councillor for Manorbier as well as a member of the Manorbier Community Council.