The Blue Cross

 

The Blue Cross is an Animal Welfare Organization which is responsible for re homing cats, dogs and horses.

Dear Mervyn,

Thank you for your email.

We have identified a new site in Suffolk and are at present in dialogue with the local authority, however whilst it will require a campaign to raise in the region of £1m to fund the new site, I regret that we are not even close to having raised that figure yet!

We continue to search for suitable alternative sites for our small animal facility in the south east, until we do so and the new facility is up and running we will continue to operate out of the Northiam site.  The equine operation at Northiam is scheduled to close during the summer with the horses being transferred to Burford.  The staff are aware of this and we intend to enter formal consultation with them in March
Kind regards, Kim

Email - 10.02.11

Dear Kim

It is twelve months since the first rumours that the Blue Cross was to close and the descision to find somewhere else in the South East to relocate. Since our last meeting in May 2010 the other centre in Flexistowe has collected £1,000,000 to relocate nearby and well done to them.
Could you let me know what the current position is regarding Northiam? Rumour has it that the horses will move in June, but no dates for the small animals side
Regards, Mervyn Hayes
Chair, Northiam Conservation Society - Email 10.02.11

“It is vital that animals in East Sussex have somewhere safe where they can be properly looked after before rehoming. The Northiam Blue Cross centre has a history of successfully caring for animals and I very much hope that Blue Cross will listen to all those campaigning for it to be saved.”

Office of Dr Caroline Lucas
Green Party MEP for SE England - 18.03.10

 
Proposals Sent To The Blue Cross - Click Here
Letter To Blue Cross After Public Meeting
Email To Mervyn Hayes - 01.03.10
Public Meeting Minutes - 09.03.10
Blue Cross Response To Proposals - Click Here
Blue Cross Response To A Resident's Letter
Letter From Sir Paul McCartney
Blue Cross Letter To NPC - May 2010
 
Gregg Barker has added his
support to saving the Blue
Cross in Northiam
 
     
     
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