Council admits paintballers in Bucklebury did not have permission
Temporary planning permission for paintballing games at Harts Hill Copse, Upper Bucklebury, was first granted in 1994, but planning permission expired in 1999.
Despite this it appears that the site has continued to be used for paintballing games.
Now the owners of the site, a company called Hotshots, run by Lisa Whelan, have been granted further temporary planning permission for two years for paintball games on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
The previous planning permission, which expired in 1999, was only for three days a week.
Hotshots has now confirmed that major UK paintballing firm, Bedlam, is interested in buying the West Berkshire site and is already promoting it on its website.
Despite the most recent application receiving 46 letters of objection, with 14 letters in support, the district council’s eastern area planning committee has approved the application.
Bucklebury Parish Council objected to the application on the grounds of intensification of use.
The vice chairman of the parish council, Barry Dickens told the committee there would be up to 650 extra traffic movements a week in the nearby road of Burden Heath.
“Paintballing on this site has been ongoing for the last 20 years, but for the last 13 years there has been no temporary planning permission. The residents of Bucklebury have tolerated this situation because of the low level use which has been three days a week. This application would see a huge intensification of use,” he added.
Another objector to the application was Peter Whelan, who said that he feared masses of people would now descend on the village for paintballing.
“Residents have been too quiet for too long and are silence has been taken as consent for paintballing games at the site.
“Bucklebury is a rural parish and Burden Heath is a 30 miles per hour zone. My experience is that visitors do not understand that 30 miles per hour zones exist in the countryside,” he added.
Councillor Graham Pask (Con, Bucklebury) slammed Hotshots for flouting planning laws.
He said: “The bottom line is residents fear the planning history and the way in which this site has been operating. They haven’t shown immense respect for the planning laws.”
West Berkshire Council planning officer David Pearson said that the council was unaware that paintballing games had continued at the site.
He said it was only in 2006 when a resident complained about the site that the council became aware that Hotshots had flouted planning laws.
Mr Pearson added that the district council has never had the resources to monitor temporary planning applications.