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Rescue wins £19k after appeal against council

BBC A man in a black jumper and puffer jacket smiles in a garden, as an owl sits on his hand in a bird handling gloveBBC
Geoff Grewcock said the sanctuary had spent more than £30,000 on legal costs, but settled for £19,000

An animal rescue has won a £19,000 settlement after appealing against a council abatement notice.

The notice was imposed on Nuneaton & Warwickshire Wildlife Sanctuary by Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council after three complaints were made about odours.

District Judge David Wain lifted the notice at Birmingham Magistrates' Court in May after an appeal by the rescue.

Geoff Grewcock, who runs the sanctuary with his daughter, said he had rejected the council's first offer of no money at all, and a second offer of £12,500, as their legal costs had exceeded £30,000.

His daughter, Emma Hudson, said the sanctuary decided not to push for more money which would come "out of the public purse", on top of the council's own legal costs.

She also said they refused to sign a "gagging order" from the council, which would have required them not to speak publicly about the settlement.

Ms Hudson told the BBC: "We were right to appeal it as it was ruled no nuisance existed, but it should never have got that far."

A man in a black uniform smiles at the camera while holding a fox, who leans its head on his shoulder
The rescue has cared for more than 100,000 animals since being founded by Geoff Grewcock after his retirement

A spokesperson for the council said it had agreed to the full and final settlement "to reduce any further costs to the council".

They said: "Following the verdict handed down in the court case in May, the council has reflected on the overall outcome and accepted its findings.

"We will be reviewing our procedures following comments made by the judge."

The council said it hoped to build a strong working relationship with the sanctuary going forwards.

Geoff Grewcock A fox cub being held in the crook of someone's arm, while looking at a bottle of milk near its mouthGeoff Grewcock
The sanctuary rescues and rehabilitates animals, while keeping those that cannot be released as permanent residents

Abatement notices are issued by local authorities if they believe a statutory nuisance exists, has occurred, or is likely to recur.

If found guilty of an offence of this type, the maximum fine is £5,000 on domestic premises and £20,000 on commercial premises. The rescue is classed as a commercial premises.

Geoff Grewcock A woman wearing black holds a swan while standing in front of a wildlife ambulance which says 'wildlife rescue' on itGeoff Grewcock
Emma Hudson said the abatement notice had "knocked us for six"

Ms Hudson said the rescue was still more than £10,000 short on costs after the appeal, which was not just down to legal costs, but also private assessments, new equipment, and groundworks.

She said this was "completely unnecessary" in retrospect, as the judge decided there was no statutory nuisance.

"This cost a lot of money which wasn't accounted for in the costs," she said.

Fundraising was also impacted by the notice, as the rescue had to close to visitors during the appeal period.

A badger lies on a blue mat with coloured towels and cushions in a large cage
Minty the badger is one of the rescue's permanent residents, after the rest of her family were killed in an act of animal cruelty

The sanctuary is now fundraising to move to a new premises, as Ms Hudson said she felt anxious at the current property due to its proximity to the complainant.

"As ruled in the judgement, the complainant has seemed to hold us responsible for a number of ills over the past three years and unfortunately we believe this is still the case," she said.

"For us, we are now trying to rebuild our tarnished reputation and self esteem. It's knocked us for six and we need to get ourselves back before we can completely trust again."

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