Bid to save Sefton aviary defeated after tetchy debate

A bid to pause the closure of an historic aviary has been rejected by Sefton Council.

A motion put forward by the Liberal Democrats calling for a halt to the closure of the aviary at Churchtown Botanic Gardens, pending further assessments, was defeated on Thursday.

In July, the council confirmed it planned to close the aviary in March 2027, claiming it was not keeping up with the modern animal welfare standards expected for the birds in its care and costs associated with maintaining its infrastructure were too great.

A petition of over 500 signatures had called for the aviary to be saved, but Labour councillor Catie Page defended the closure alleging the birds were in "an appalling state".

PETA, the world's largest animal rights group, had come forward to support Sefton Council's move to close down the 87-year-old site.

However, on Thursday, Lib Dem councillor, Daniel Lewis, laid down a motion to pause the closure before the full council, stating "significant concern" has been expressed by residents, volunteers and community organisations about both the proposal and how the decision was communicated.

The motion called for a pause of demolition and rehoming pending an independent assessment covering welfare needs and whether the site could be adapted to modern standards.

A decade ago, efforts made to remove responsibility for the aviary from the council's books fell through. The Botanic Gardens Community Association (BGCA) has since helped support the running costs of the site.

Hannah Melling - speaking on behalf of BGCA - said the public "deserves better" than the response they had received from Sefton Council regarding its closure.

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 maintained 35% of smaller birds would die as a result of the closure, and parrots could "psychologically collapse" and may not survive a relocation.

"That's not welfare improvement, that's welfare harm," she said.

She said a "viable charitable solution" was ready to step in, "all we are asking for is a review".

Her view was supported by Reform's Charles Denton, who called on Sefton Council to give campaigners the opportunity to raise the money needed to keep the aviary open.

But Labour's Page countered that she had visited the aviary and "didn't like it at all", adding she thought the birds were not is good health.

"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."

Thursday's debate included accusations of a lack of transparency over costings for the aviary and allegations the proposed closure - first raised in February - was "hidden from residents".

Nonetheless, councillors voted 35-27 against the motion.

As the motion was voted down, efforts will now continue towards the site's closure next spring, including the rehoming of the birds.

Sefton Council said efforts would be made to rehome the animals with suitably equipped organisations and euthanasia would not be considered.

Concerns were raised about the nature of the debate online amid suggestions female members of the council were targeted with offensive comments, which one councillor said had "crossed a line".

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