Sefton councillors review the Botanic Gardens aviary closure on 15 September, and one of the four welfare groups backing the closure has withdrawn support.
The decision to close the aviary at Southport’s Botanic Gardens goes before a committee of Sefton councillors next Tuesday. It is item 5 on the agenda of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Skills), which meets at 6.30pm on Tuesday 15 September in the Council Chamber at the Town Hall in Bootle, at the southern end of the borough. (Sefton Council agenda, 15 September 2026)
The item is there because one councillor put it there. Cllr Mike Sammon, who represents Cambridge ward in Southport for the Liberal Democrats and sits on the committee, gave notice under Rule 19 of Chapter 6 of the council’s constitution that the closure decision should be considered at the meeting. The Liberal Democrats are the opposition group on a Labour-run council. (Sefton Council, your councillors)
His supporting statement, published in full on the agenda, says the decision “has proved to be highly controversial with more than 15,000 people signing a petition opposing the closure”, and that it “affects residents and communities across more than one ward”. He cites two well attended public meetings and residents in the public gallery at the July council meeting, and argues that “given the significant level of public interest and the wider community impact, together with the mixed messages concerning the decision coming from the Council over recent months, this decision warrants proper scrutiny”.
No report accompanies the item. The agenda lists a PDF against most of the night’s business, including the weed spraying programme and the winter service policy, but item 5 carries only the councillor’s notice.
What the petition numbers actually show
The 15,000 figure is Cllr Sammon’s, and it is not one the published records can confirm on their own. Here is what the registers hold today, checked on Tuesday 8 September.
- Sefton Council’s own ePetition, “Official Save The Botanic Gardens Aviary”, run by the Botanic Gardens Community Association and volunteers: 298 signatures. It opened on 25 August and closes on 25 October. (Sefton Council ePetitions)
- An earlier council ePetition of the same name ran from 30 June to 1 September and finished with 20 signatures. (Sefton Council)
- Two petitions on Change.org: the original “Save the Botanic Gardens Aviary” shows 4,916 verified signatures, and the association’s “official page” shows 3,344.
The association’s own ePetition text says the online names “will be added to the ones collected in the park”, so paper signatures are also being gathered. Those are not published anywhere we can count. The gap between the countable total and the figure quoted on the agenda is therefore not evidence that either is wrong, but readers should know which number comes from where.
The July vote the agenda refers to
The “mixed messages” line points back to the full Council meeting on Thursday 16 July, and the minutes of that meeting are now published.
Cllr Lewis moved a motion, seconded by Cllr Lauren Keith, on the sale of No. 2 Lodge, Botanic Gardens, Botanic Road, Southport PR9 7NB. It asked the council to resolve that the proceeds of the sale be allocated to support both the Botanic Gardens Community Association’s Heritage Lottery bid and “the continued operation of the Botanic Gardens aviary”. The motion noted that Heritage Lottery funding would let the association turn every £100 raised into £1,000.
The vote was recorded, so every name is on the record. The motion was lost by 27 votes to 32. Cllr Sammon voted for it. Cllr Marion Atkinson, the leader of the council, voted against, as did the Mayor. (Sefton Council, Council minutes, 16 July 2026)
One welfare group has withdrawn its support
Something else changed while the agenda was being drawn up, and the council has recorded it in its own frequently asked questions rather than in a press release.
In August, Sefton named four animal welfare organisations that had written in support of closing the aviary: the Born Free Foundation, PETA, Freedom for Animals and In Defence of Animals. The FAQ now lists three. Of the fourth it says that a previous version “correctly stated” that In Defence of Animals had written to express full support, but adds: “we are happy to clarify that since this correspondence they have now formally rescinded their support as of 03/09/2026”. The council says it has published the original letter of support on the same page. (Sefton Council, aviary FAQ, last updated 3 September 2026)
That takes the count of welfare bodies publicly backing the council from four to three. It does not change the decision, and the council’s stated grounds are unchanged, but it is the first movement on the welfare argument since the closure was announced, and it happened twelve days before the scrutiny meeting.
What the committee can and cannot do
Overview and scrutiny committees do not take decisions for the council. Sefton’s own description of this committee’s role is “to fulfil all the functions of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee as they relate to Regeneration and Environment Services and to review and make recommendations for improvement”. (Sefton Council, committee details)
That matters here. This is not a call-in of a fresh decision. The closure was agreed through the 2026/27 budget, which went to Cabinet on 12 February and full Council on 26 February 2026, and the council has said there was no public consultation because “this is an operational decision that does not warrant public consultation”. What the committee can do on 15 September is question officers and cabinet members, take evidence, and send recommendations back to the Cabinet.
The committee is chaired by Cllr Sam Hinde and its vice-chair is Cllr Karen Cavanagh, both Labour.
The figures behind the closure
Nothing published since has changed the arithmetic we set out in August. The council’s budget plan scores closing the aviary as a saving of nil in 2026/27 and £60,000 in 2027/28. Its own FAQ, refreshed on 3 September, still puts the cost of running the aviary this year at an estimated £80,750, of which £60,000 is salaries. The council has never published a reconciliation of the two figures.
The closure date in the council’s FAQ is the end of March 2027. Euthanasia has been ruled out and the birds, rabbits and guinea pigs are to be rehomed with organisations the council judges suitably skilled.
Patrick Hurley, the MP for Southport, wrote to the council’s chief executive on 14 July asking for the financial and operational reasoning and whether alternative operating models had been explored. His website has published nothing further on the aviary since, and its most recent post of any kind is dated 11 August. (Patrick Hurley MP)
What it means for you
Next Tuesday’s meeting is a public meeting. If you want to watch the aviary item, the practical detail is:
- When: 6.30pm, Tuesday 15 September 2026. The aviary is item 5, after apologies, declarations, minutes and a presentation from Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority.
- Where: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Bootle. That is at the far end of the borough from Southport, so allow for the journey.
- Access: the agenda names Paul Fraser, senior democratic services officer, on 0151 934 2068 for anyone whose needs require arrangements to attend.
- You cannot speak. Members of the public may observe scrutiny meetings but do not contribute to them.
If you want your name on a petition the council itself counts, the association’s ePetition is open until Sunday 25 October on the council’s own site. Signatures gathered there sit in the council’s records rather than on a commercial platform.
Two further dates are worth holding. Full Council next meets on Thursday 17 September, two days after the scrutiny meeting. And the closure deadline in the council’s own FAQ remains the end of March 2027, which is when this stops being an argument about process.
For the other decisions being taken around the town, our planning news page tracks applications and outcomes across Sefton, and the Botanic Gardens themselves are covered in our guide to things to do in Southport.
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