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County approves Springbrook shooting range

Former CFB Penhold range to be refurbished and reopened
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Contributed photo This shooting range at Springbrook was originally built for CFB Penhold. Red Deer Fish and Game Association has plans to renovate it and restore it to use.

Plans to reopen a shooting range in Springbrook remain on target.

Red Deer County’s municipal planning commission approved a development on Tuesday for the range, which is located in the basement of what is now Springbrook’s multiplex.

Built by the federal government for the military at CFB Penhold, the range has not been used for many years and must be upgraded to modern safety, air quality and acoustic standards.

The range will be operated by the Red Deer Fish and Game Association. The group went looking for a new range after the Red Deer Public School Division said it needed back the space used for a shooting range in a maintenance building next to the Memorial Centre.

The range, which has been used by shooters for decades, will be closed at the end of the year.

It is expected the range will be well used by Fish and Game Association members and law enforcement, peace officer and security personnel, who are required to regularly maintain their firearms proficiency.

The Fish and Game Association also runs a popular local junior shooting program that has turned out about 125 competitive shooters since 2006.

Approval from the province Chief Firearms Officer is required before the range can reopen. Fish and Game members said that is expected to happen sometime next year.