The Mendip Farmers’ hunt have vowed to press on with a move to new premises despite opposition from locals concerned about noise.
Twenty-three residents of Priddy, Somerset, have formed an action group, Campaign Against Noise Intruding Nature’s Environment (CANINE), to fight the proposed relocation of the hunt.
The Mendip Farmers’ have been based in Priddy since 1922, but were forced to buy new premises in the same village — at Underbarrow Farm — after the owners of its current base decided to sell.
A planning application has been prepared to adapt the bungalow, buildings and 17 acres to house 60 hounds and six horses.
The hunt intends to soundproof the kennels — but some neighbours are still concerned.
Local man Geoff Selway owns the main track up to Underbarrow Farm.
“The potential increase in traffic alongside our house and the daily transport of dead carcasses to feed the hounds is a real concern,” he said. “We feel the peace and tranquillity of the countryside is about to be shattered and, whatever measures are put in place to reduce the impact on residents, will simply not be enough.”
Gwyn Thomas, whose home adjoins the site, added: “We are a rural residential area right in the middle of an ‘Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ — it is not the right place for kennels of any sort.”
But Mendip Farmers’ joint-master Richard Standing said noise experts have been consulted on the design of the new kennels.
“We are trying very hard to involve our neighbours in the plans,” he said. “It should be an improvement as we would move from an old building to a building made from modern, sound-absorbing materials.”
He added a planning application would be submitted to Mendip District Council soon.
