Sefton Council has rejected a bid to pause the closure of the historic aviary at Churchtown Botanic Gardens. A motion from the opposition Liberal Democrats calling for the closure to be halted pending further assessments was voted down during a tetchy debate.
The borough council confirmed in July it would look to close the aviary in March next year, citing modern animal welfare standards and the costs of maintaining its infrastructure. PETA, the world's largest animal rights group, had supported Sefton's move to close the 87-year-old site.
Rehoming efforts to continue
With the motion defeated, efforts will now continue towards the site's closure next spring, including the rehoming of the birds. Sefton Council said efforts will be made to rehome the animals with suitably equipped organisations and euthanasia will not be considered.
Efforts were made a decade ago to transfer the site off the borough's books before they fell through, including attempts in 2016/17 regarding proposals from BGCA to manage both the fernery and aviary on site. BGCA has since helped support the running costs of the site.
Campaigners raise concerns
Cllr Daniel Lewis laid down a motion before the full council which said "significant concern" has been expressed by residents, volunteers and community organisations about both the proposed closure and how the decision was communicated. The motion called on cabinet members to acknowledge the concern raised by campaigners and hold off on closing the aviary, including a pause of demolition and rehoming pending an independent assessment.
Hannah Melling on behalf of Botanic Gardens Community Association (BGCA) submitted a petition of more than 500 signatures calling for the aviary to be saved. She said the public "deserves better" than the response they had received from Sefton Council. Ms Melling said welfare reasons being cited were not valid and the owners of the birds in the aviary were yet to be contacted on the decision. She added how 35% of smaller birds would die and parrots could "psychologically collapse" and may not survive a relocation.
She said: "That's not welfare improvement, that's welfare harm". Ms Melling said a "viable charitable solution" was ready to step in, "all we are asking for is a review".
Debate and vote
Support for the motion came from Cllr Charles Denton, representing Reform UK, who called on the authority to reverse the decision as it would be "good for the birds and good for the council". Cllr Denton also called on Sefton Council to give campaigners the opportunity to raise the money needed to keep the aviary open.
However, Labour Cllr Catie Page said she had visited the aviary prior to its proposed closure and "didn't like it at all." She said: "I thought the birds were in an appalling state. The reality is there are an awful lot of people who don't want it and think that £60,000 could be better spent elsewhere. It's £60,000 every year to keep birds in conditions that are not good."
Cllr Joanne McCall, Maghull Community Independents, had asked the council to think again, describing the aviary as "too much of a public asset" to let it go. Amid concerns over transparency, Cllr Joanne Williams, cabinet member for public health and wellbeing, said the decision was first raised in February ahead of the council setting its annual budget and provided ample opportunity for the closure to be scrutinised. Cllr Leo Evans said documents were delivered too late for members to properly assess the plans. He said: "It was hidden so people couldn't spot it. It was hidden from residents."
Councillors voted 35-27 against the motion, meaning it was defeated. Concerns were raised about the toxic nature of the debate online with female members of the council being targeted with offensive comments. Cllr Peter Harvey, cabinet member for cleansing and street scene, said the debate had "crossed a line" and legitimate concerns had been "drowned out" by attacks on female members while Cllr Simon Shaw described the comments as "appalling".
