Greenwich Council’s plans to close Maryon Wilson Animal Park in Charlton would only save £5,000 over the next four years, it has been revealed, because of the high cost of rehoming its residents.
The proposal, revealed on Tuesday night as part of the Labour council’s latest budget cuts, has provoked a wave of anger in the Charlton area and beyond, with a petition against the closure reaching 6,330 names by noon on Friday.
It is the council’s second attempt to dispose of the park, which contains 93 animals including deer, sheep and goats. An attempt to hive it off to a trust run by residents failed in 2016.
A public meeting to discuss ways to challenge the closure plan – which is included in the council’s four-year financial strategy – will be held on Sunday afternoon.
While the council says the closure would save £60,000 a year, this would only kick in from the 2027-28 financial year. It would spend £75,000 rehoming the animals over the next financial year, followed by £30,000 in 2026/27 and £10,000 in 2027/28.
This means the council would spend £115,000 rehoming the animals over four years, against a £120,000 saving in the same period.
Matt Hartley, the leader of the Conservative opposition on the council, said the figure had been confirmed to him by council officers. He pledged to put forward a plan to save the park at the budget meeting next month if Labour did not withdraw the plan.
“This short-sighted proposal makes no sense whatsoever, and will mean local families lose the enormous benefit of this much-loved community facility without even a meaningful financial benefit for the taxpayer,” he said.
“The small print of Labour’s own proposals show that the council is going to have to spend £115,000 re-homing 93 animals and closing the park over the next three years in order to generate a saving of £120,000 by 2029.
“This means the loss of this vital community asset will generate a puny net saving of just £5,000 over the next four years. Why on earth are they attempting this closure yet again, and for such a tiny saving to the taxpayer?
“Labour councillors need to get a grip of their budget-setting process and withdraw this nonsensical proposal. If they don’t, then the opposition group of Conservative councillors will bring forward a fully-costed proposal to save the animal park – and we will make sure this is voted on in a separate, dedicated vote at the town hall.
“I would urge everyone who wants to save the animal park to sign the community petition, and also to email their ward councillors and urge them to put pressure on the council’s Labour leadership to withdraw this element of the budget.”
The proposal has also met with bewilderment among some Labour councillors, who question why the council is making itself so unpopular – particularly with elections due next year – to make such a small saving from an annual budget of over £330 million.
The animal park has been a part of the area for nearly a century, after a small herd of deer was donated by the land’s former owner, Sir Spencer Maryon-Wilson, in 1928.
A council spokesperson said: “Years of underfunding and budget cuts by the previous government have left us no choice but to take tough decisions to stay well managed and financially secure. We have a duty to people who rely on our services to review how and where we use our limited budget.
“As part of this, we’ll give the community the opportunity to submit a plan to run Maryon Wilson independently and then subject to approval we will begin the process of rehoming the animals who currently occupy Maryon Wilson Animal Park. In the meantime, the site will still be used by the Riding School for the Disabled.
“We are committed to ensuring any changes are handled carefully and that the site continues to support the local community.”
The residents’ petition is on the 38 Degrees website, while the public meeting will be held on Sunday January 26 at 2.30pm at St Thomas Church, Woodland Terrace SE7 8EN.
Amended at 4pm to make clear that the saving would be £5,000 over four years and at 11.55pm to add the council’s response.
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