A FARMER is looking to expand his pheasant shooting business despite objections.

Plans have been submitted for Iford Farm, off Piddinghoe Road, between Lewes and Rodmell, to increase the days over which it can open its hunting lodge.

The planning application has been handed to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) for the change.

Currently the farm has approval to run the shooting lodge on two days between Mondays and Saturdays, but has now applied to run it for five days over the same period.

The business owners are hoping to run the shooting lodge alongside a business breeding and selling pheasants for shooting.

Opponents living near the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty have voiced concerns over flies, smells and an increase in traffic as well as general loss of amenities.

Another opponent claimed pheasants were stripping bare the lower branches of a nearby vineyard.

These complaints resulted in two previous applications for the game rearing business, lodged earlier this year, being withdrawn, though the farm intends to file a new one.

All the SDNPA applications have been delegated to Lewes District Council to be considered on their own merits.

The council said it had pursued a complaint that the shooting lodge was being used outside of the two days a week agreed under prior planning approval.

Ian Hepburn, head of conservation for Sussex Wildlife Trust, said: “Our objection is that the potential impact has not been properly assessed.”

And he said an increase in game birds over the past 15 years could have a direct impact on invertebrates living in the area.

The business side of the farm is run in-part by Ben Taylor, managing director of J & H Robinson (Iford Farms) Ltd.

Mr Taylor said: “Pheasant and game shooting is a large and important part of the rural economy.

“This is part of a series of diversifications we have undertaken over the past 20 years which will ensure the long-term viability of the farm business, which, in turn, enables us to support and maintain the character and facilities of an unspoilt downland village.”

Mr Taylor said the farm had been “very mindful of people’s objections” and had “tried our best to listen and respond to them” but that some people were “misinformed”.