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Hitting the target is what it's all about!
This time last year we featured the Bayston family of Pollington Grange and reported that a full planning application for a CPSA registered shooting school had been approved – so, one year on, what has happened?
While shooting has long been one of the farming world's favourite pastimes Tom Bayston is now finding out what it is like as a business too.
Sport has always been a large part of Tom's life, having played rugby for Selby, Rotherham and Hull Ionians up until a back injury forced him to quit his role as hooker two and a half years ago – and it appears that it will remain so with his new venture.
Farming at Pollington Grange, 3 miles from Snaith, where he grows cereals, oilseed rape, sugar beet and potatoes on his 1000 acres Tom believes he has spotted a gap in the country sport market and one that he intends to make the most of with the launch of his clay pigeon shooting school.
'I had always said that I would start shooting regularly once I'd finished my rugby. My father bought me some lessons for the Christmas when I realised my rugby career was over and that's when I had the idea of the shooting school. When I was looking around for a ground and coach I found that it was going to take me a good hour, to hour and a half to get to one.
I thought it was an opening I ought to pursue.' And so he did. The obvious resistance, that sometimes comes with such ideas, from local homeowners was something that Tom was aware of as a possible hurdle, but he talked with planners, consultants and took as much advice as he could get, with the result being that he has now achieved permission for shooting to take place at the newly-opened Park Lodge Shooting School in nearby West Cowick, just a mile and a half south of Snaith, 7 days a week from 8am to 8pm. 'We have had all of the official noise tests done and the 44 acre site we are developing here is ideal in all respects.
We're over a mile away from any residential dwelling and we're also close enough, with the nearby connections to the M62, A19 and A1 to draw people from a huge area.' Tom's the first to admit that Park Lodge is nowhere near the finished article as yet, but it is already fulfilling a need.
'We opened in December and at present we're only open on a Saturday and Sunday, with Wednesday to Friday available by appointment. But even in that short space of time we have already taken a number of bookings for corporate days and our membership is looking good.' 2500 ex-railway sleepers make up the walkway around the shooting area and there are two tall towers that figure prominently.
'We decided on those because of the massive interest in game shooting. The clays from the towers more accurately replicate game flight. One is 90ft tall and the other 140ft. These are some of the tallest towers in the UK and will appeal particularly to those who want to hone their game shooting skills.'
To date the investment put into Park Lodge runs to hundreds of thousands of pounds. Towers, sleepers, 36 traps, drainage, mains power, underground cabling and a reserve generator, as well as two cabins don't come cheap, but there's still a long way to go. 'Eventually we hope to be the North of England's premier ground, providing both trap and sporting disciplines.
I reckon it will take us about two or three years to get there with improvements being made every week.' One of the important factors behind the success of any shooting school, as Tom found out when he was looking around, is the quality of the instructors and he believes that his investment in bringing Nick Walker back to Yorkshire will play a major part in just that.'
Nick is a farmer's son from Tickhill, near Doncaster, and his passion has always been shooting. He spent three years as a full-time instructor at the Royal Berkshire Shooting School where he developed a fantastic reputation. That's bound to be an asset to what we are trying to achieve here.'
Nick's vision of where Park Lodge wants to be in the coming years is, unsurprisingly, much the same as Tom's: 'We're looking for it to be a great place to drive into. Grass down, bushes, shrubs, flowers, a lovely lodge with all of the facilities you would want from the leading centre for shooting, and the kind of place that you could walk around as if in your slippers. At the moment we're a fair way away from that, but we'll get there.' Tom tells of the turf and signage being the next to arrive, and his philosophy over who he intends to buy from. 'We're getting our turf from Greenland Seeds in Goole.
We're trying to use local companies in the hope that they will also support us.' With corporate days now a vastly booming market, whether for team bonding or entertaining customers, it appears Tom has hit on a business that can only succeed, but he's also keen to take things further. 'I am interested in developing a 4x4 Off-road course for the corporate hospitality market as well as a mini digger driving experience too. That way we can make for a full day's entertainment for those wanting more than one activity.'
But that doesn't mean that Park Lodge is going to be just about looking after corporate and commercial business. Both Tom and Nick want the school to be seen as the centre for those whose passion is shooting. 'We will be holding our first CPSA (Clay Pigeon Shooting Association) competition in the Spring and Paul Chaplow, the Number One Down The Line shooter in the country has already been here and given us his backing. We are going to have more shooting disciplines here than any other shooting ground in the north and we can already cope with hundreds of shooters at a time.
We are hoping to include a FITASC shoot (a French federation) providing extreme targets and we are keen to develop a grouse butt to simulate as close as possible the stone built butt with heather where you can shoot all around in a safe environment. We're also starting what is known as a Game Syndicate Ladder where those who shoot here monthly during the close season can compete to see which syndicate has the best shooters.'
Whilst Tom appears totally wrapped up in his love of shooting he remains as committed to farming as ever.
He is a group director of Woldmarsh, a farmers cooperative buying group, vice chairman of Goole National Farmers Union and sits on two Drainage Boards. He believes that the future of farming is in its ability to work together. 'Collaboration is very important to our industry, whether buying inputs, sharing machinery or joining forces even more.'
PARK LODGE SHOOTING SCHOOL - FACTS
Catering for both Trap and Sporting shoots : Trap disciplines are 'Down The Line', Skeet and Ball Trap set at specific anles and levels
Sporting disciplines are a variety of different traps set at different angles and levels
All instructors are either BASC (British Association of Shooting & Conservation); CPSA or APSI (Association of Professional Shooting Instructors) trained.
www. parklodgeshootingschool.co.uk
Tom Bayston 07836 610945
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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