Council communication has turned aviary decision into political catastrophe
The decision was always going to land badly but it didn't have to be this bad
Hello and welcome to The Southport Lead.
The decision to close down the aviary at Botanic Gardens has sparked a level of public reaction which in recent years is second only to the plight of Southport Pier.
Packed public meetings and online opprobrium have been the backdrop to petitions attracting some 15,000 signatures. Volunteers feel betrayed, visitors disappointed and residents angered.
Today’s newsletter takes a different format as I instead share an opinion piece of how a difficult situation has been compounded to become much, much worse thanks to its handling by Sefton Council.
Southport briefing
⛔ The law firm which represented an adult survivor of the Southport attack has become the first legal business to sign up to her safety campaign. Leanne Lucas launched her Let’s Be Blunt campaign after the attack and wants to see kitchen knives across the country with round-tip blades to prevent harm and spark a national conversation. Leanne has been represented by Broudie Jackson Canter during the public inquiry and, as first reported by Law Gazette, visited the firm to give a seminar about the evidence behind safer knife design and practical steps that can be taken to help reduce knife crime. The group which manages the firm has now replaced knives across its 15 offices. It says it hopes the move will create a ripple effect across the legal sector by encouraging other firms to follow suit. Esther Leach, managing director of Jackson Lees Group, said: ‘Through our work representing the three adult survivors of the Southport attack at the independent Inquiry chaired by Adrian Fulford, as well as other victims of knife crime, we know first-hand the importance of prevention and education and hope other firms will follow our lead. Leanne is an inspiration, taking her horrendous experience and turning it into something that can help countless others.’ Leanne added: ‘Law firms understand better than most businesses the truly devastating impact of knife crime and the ripple effect it has on the many innocent victims across the country. We need to change the way we view our pointed kitchen knives as just another harmless kitchen tool and embrace this simple safety measure to protect communities.’
🔥 Fresh warnings have been issued to the public after a huge fire broke out on sand dunes at Formby. Fire crews from Merseyside and Lancashire battled the flames as a fire broke out on Wednesday evening and initially was estimated to cover a space 300m by 300m before spreading as wide as 500m. It caused extensive damage, though rangers from the National Trust site so it is too early to understand the full extent of its impact on what it an ecologically significant habitat and the species which live there. A spokesperson for the NT said: “While the fire is now out, the scorched ground will remain hot for several days, so we ask visitors to avoid the area for their own safety. We can all help to reduce further fire risk during this period of hot, dry weather by ensuring cigarettes are fully extinguished and barbeques and fires are never lit, not just at National Trust Formby, but anywhere along the Sefton Coast. We’d like to thank Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service for their quick response and hard work in containing and extinguishing the fire.”
🔨 The historic conservatory at Hesketh Park is to undergo major repair, restoration and conservation works. The conservatory was bought and moved to the park almost 150 years ago and has stood there ever since but now needs extensive work to address structural deterioration, corrosion, drainage failures and building fabric defects that currently threaten the long-term survival. A planning application has been submitted for the works and say it provide benefits by securing the long-term future and continued public use of the listed building, providing a safe and well-maintained heritage asset, improving the quality of the visitor environment, and supporting continued public enjoyment of Hesketh Park. The restoration project, along with other improvements at the park, is being funded through an £850,000 legacy gifted by Louis and Anita Marks.
Council communication has turned aviary closure into political catastrophe
Analysis by Jamie Lopez
Sefton Council’s efforts to gain support from animal rights groups served only to fan the flames as it faces huge backlash over its decision to close the Botanic Gardens Aviary.
The council either underestimated or simply did not understand the public reaction when it quietly made the decision to close the historic facility earlier this year and its efforts to counter that mood have so far proved deeply unsuccessful.
On Wednesday, a public meeting led by Southport MP Patrick Hurley and long-serving Botanic Gardens volunteers David and Ann Cobham was attended by around 250 people and heard that a paper petition circulated by Botanic Gardens Community Association has attracted more than 11,000 signatures in addition to a few thousand more online.
The meeting heard plenty of anger directed at the council and once again it was a reminder of how ill-conceived it was that this decision might ever pass quietly. Amid an awful lot of frustration - and not inconsiderable misunderstanding of how local democracy operates - there were shoots of optimism from the meeting, with Hurley suggesting he had cause to believe there could be a positive outcome, even if he was unable to give more detail.
Many of those present were on board with his suggestion that a lot of people making a small financial contribution would add up to a total which could be used to unlock significantly more funding. Ann Cobham also requested that people willing to commit their time do so to help the aviary and the wider park - one hopes both of these suggestions will be heeded by a good number of those who have variously expressed support and outrage.
Those willing to read between the lines could see Hurley had genuine hopes of a route for the aviary remaining open even if he wasn’t willing to disclose every element of the discussions he has had so with council officers and other organisations.
What followed just a day later was a new press release from the council doubling down on its belief that the aviary could not accord with animal welfare needs. Comments from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the Born Free Foundation, the International Animal Protection Organisation In Defence of Animals and the Freedom for Animals organisation - all sought directly by the council once the backlash had started - supported its decision.
Among those, Dr Carys Bennett, Senior Corporate Projects Manager, said: “PETA applauds Sefton Council for its decision to close the Botanic Gardens aviary and rehome the animals to facilities better able to meet their needs.
“Birds are not ornaments to be displayed. The aviary’s parrots, for example, are highly social animals who, in nature, live in flocks, fly long distances, forage for food, and make their own choices.
“Confining them with little stimulation does not respect animals’ best interests, or meet their social, psychological or physical needs. In the 80 years since the aviary was set up, our understanding of animals as individuals has advanced tremendously, and the urgency to protect wildlife, in the wild, has never been greater.”
Chris Lewis, Captivity Research and Policy Manager at international wildlife charity Born Free, added: “While we recognise the nostalgia and fond memories that local residents may have about the aviary, Born Free feels strongly that tradition should never be used as justification or a barrier for improving animal welfare or ending poor welfare practices which may once have been considered socially acceptable.”
It was indicative that the supportive letters only arrived this late and it is worth noting that it followed an FOI request from a member of the public which revealed that no investigations, analysis or enquiries were carried out into the financial or welfare aspects before the decision was made.
Through just a few short questions, the council’s limited authority on the matter was further diminished and its leaders, who had previously spoken so confidently on the matter, looked completely inept.
The council forced itself into a defensive position and remains stuck on the back foot entirely through its own poor handling of the decision. The fact it only now sought out this information has added to the frustration of opponents of the decision.
Communication from the authority, notably its senior councillors, has been bewilderingly poor from the start and has only served to undermine its own decision making. The fact it did not even announce the decision itself but instead allowed volunteers to do so - having not even informed them for several months after it was decided - meant it lost control of the narrative and it has never come close to winning anyone back over.
The claim that the lack of public consultation was due to it being a budget decision simply cannot sit alongside its insistence that the decision is being made out of animal welfare concerns. The inconsistent answers treat the public as fools and it is extremely naive to think the dual-narrative would ever be tolerated.
For those unaware, the decision to close the aviary had actually been passed as part of the budget setting in March - a single line in a long document which I’ve no doubt at all the opposition Lib Dem councillors are kicking themselves for missing.
The manner in which the decision was first not announced and then brushed aside with such churlish responses strikes of a leadership which chooses to hide behind process and avoid scrutiny - a criticism which is frequently aimed at the cabinet in relation to a wide range of issues.
