Glasgow 2014 today (Tuesday 10 December) announced that construction work is starting on the Barry Buddon site to prepare the ranges ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games.

The Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO) and the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee are working together to ensure that Barry Buddon in Carnoustie will host Shooting at the Games.

The Carnoustie venue will host all elements of the Shooting competition at the Games, including clay target, full bore, pistol and small bore events.

Shooting is one of 17 sports that make up the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, the largest sporting and cultural event ever held in Scotland.

DIO is the property and services provider of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and manages Barry Buddon Training Centre.

How the site is to be used before, during and after the games period, will take into account the MOD’s operational requirements and the Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) status.

It is an EU Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area (SPA) for birds under the European Birds Directive.

Barry Buddon covers 2,600 acres (950 hectares) and is primarily an infantry training area, consisting of accommodation for 500 persons, 21 ranges capable of supporting small arms, heavy machine gun and medium mortars.

The MOD range was used for the full-bore rifle contest during the Edinburgh Games in 1986, but this time round all of the shooting events will take place in Angus.

The planning application to create the additional temporary ranges at Barry Buddon was approved by Angus Council early in 2013. The ranges will remain fully operational to military users until much closer to the Games.

Glasgow 2014 Chief Executive, David Grevemberg, said: “We are pleased to have concluded negotiations for the use of Barry Buddon and are grateful to the Ministry of Defence for their support of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“Barry Buddon will be a world-class venue for the Shooting competition at the Games and represents an opportunity for those outside of Glasgow to be part of the celebrations.”

Maj (Retd) Kim Torp-Petersen, Deputy Commander DIO Ops Training Scotland said: “DIO’s priority is to support our Armed Forces as they prepare for operations. In parallel with our day-to-day Defence work, it has taken a lot of hard work for the DIO Ops Training team and the LMS team here in Scotland to reach this point.

“We’re proud to be able to offer our facilities to support the 2014 Commonwealth Games and we look forward to welcoming the competitors to Barry Buddon.

“There is a lot of work to be done between now and the summer to get the site ready for the Games but we’re confident that working together with Glasgow 2014 we will achieve our target.”

Chair of the Angus Steering Group for the XX Commonwealth Games, Councillor JeanetteGaul said: “It is great to see the construction get underway. Angus is looking forward to being a host venue and we have been working hard with Glasgow 2014, Dundee City Council, the MOD and other partner agencies to make sure all visitors have an enjoyable stay and that athletes can enjoy the top-class facilities at Barry Buddon.”