Times change. The military no longer occupies a position in society where we can simply say "well, we were here first", especially about something like an AGWR. Society have a duty to minimise pollution and noise falls within that. If an area is growing and developing then it’s simply not acceptable to refuse to change, especially if there is an alternative. What is that alternative? Synthetic training? Move the range to somewhere really remote? Who knows but it must be looked at. If we were building a new range would we place it at Tain? Not even close.
Oh, and I'm not coming at this from a tree hugging perspective. As an ex-fj QWI I spent more than my fair share of time pounding the weapons pattern, Tain included and I appreciate their importance. However, times are tough for the military and will only get tougher. Some of the arguments will be played out in open court and the support of the public will be important. Let’s choose our battles carefully eh.