| Dear All |
| Last Thursday was a difficult day for many of us here at The Blue Cross. Christian Bamber, Rachel Briggs and I travelled to visit the teams at Felixstowe and then Northiam (also attended by Kerstin Alford) to tell them that we propose to close their centres as part of out strategic review. Ii was important that those teams directly affected were the first to be informed and now I am letting you know of our plans and proposals. |
| During 2009, we embarked on a major strategic review of our organisation to ensure that we adapt to these changing animal welfare needs. The main aim of the strategic review was to determine how our charity could help as many animals as possible using our limited resources and be sustainable long into the future. |
| Extensive research identified that there are animal welfare issues that currently are not being sufficiently addressed and so this resulted in a new strategic plan for the organisation to focus our efforts in these area of highest priority for needy animals. Our research has shown that the animal welfare need is greater in other areas of the country and we can achieve more for animals by investing in other regions such as the North West. |
| There is no doubt that both our Felixstowe and Northiam centres have been successfully supporting local pets and their owners over the years., but unfortunately the sites are no longer fit for purpose.The facilities in both locations are in poor condition and their size an location makes them unsuitable for redevelopment. |
| This process has taken longer than I would have liked, but it was vital that we were rigorous in our research and that we announced the proposals only once we were sure that this was the right way forward. |
| We will now begin the consultation process with the staff at Felixstowe and Northiam centres. Once the outcome of that process has been determined i will be able to communicate this and inform you of both centres' futures. |
| I will holding open informal briefings at Burford to answer any questions you may have at 2.00pm on Wednesday 27th January and Wednesday 3rd February. These briefing to be held locally then please do contact me. There are some Questions and Answers featured on SharePoint along with a videocast outlining the proposal. |
| As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for Andy, maria, Carrie, their teams and their families and we are giving them as much support as we can. |
| Thanks |
| Kim |
