Shailesh Vara, Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire, was delighted to learn of the recent Sport England award of £50,000 to the Cambridgeshire Target Shooting Association (CTSA) for their proposed indoor shooting range at Norman Cross, near Peterborough. The award is as a result of a bid by the Association to Sport England’s Inspired Facilities Fund.

Mr Vara has been supporting the Association and believes that the facility will be of enormous benefit to the surrounding area and that it will attract both local and national interest.

The proposed facility will provide local shooting clubs and aspiring shots with access to a state of the art range. The range will offer coaching and training at all levels of the sport and will have the potential to provide for all small-bore target shooting disciplines. The Association will also be giving special consideration to ensure that full access is provided for less-abled and disabled shooters.

Mr Vara said:

“The Cambridgeshire Target Shooting Association is an excellent group playing an important role both locally and nationally for aspiring shots of various abilities. We already have a local Paralympic Champion in Matt Skelhon and I am sure that these facilities will act as a driver for new talent and that the range will be used by many people including those from further afield.”

Fred Haskett of the Cambridgeshire Target Shooting Association said:


“There is no permanent shooting legacy from the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. This is the only range of its type being built in the country and will provide much needed training facilities for aspiring Olympians of the future. Being awarded Inspired Facilities funding is a major success for the Cambridgeshire Target Shooting Association and demonstrates the value Sport England place in this project. However, the CTSA still requires additional funding before the project can start and seeks support from local businesses and other sponsors. It also needs Huntingdonshire District Council to give this project a zero rating on the Community Infrastructure Levy.”