Councillors voted 5 to 3 against a report on how the aviary closure was decided. No bird has been rehomed yet, and donors can now ask for theirs back.

A bid to make Sefton Council explain in writing how it decided to close the Botanic Gardens aviary has failed. Councillors on the scrutiny committee voted it down by 5 votes to 3 on 15 September.

The minutes of that meeting were published on Tuesday. They are the first written record of what happened in the room. (Sefton Council, minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Regeneration and Skills), 15 September 2026)

Since then, the council has also updated its public questions and answers on the closure. It now says that no bird has been rehomed so far.

What was voted on

Cllr Mike Sammon brought the item to the committee. He asked for the Assistant Director for Operational In-House Services to “submit a report to the next meeting of the Committee setting out the decision-making process behind the decision”. Cllr Costello seconded it.

The minutes record that “the Motion was lost by 3 votes for and 5 against”. Ten committee members were listed as present. The minutes do not record how each member voted.

Before the vote, Cllr Sammon told the committee:

  • there had been an aviary at the Botanic Gardens for 87 years
  • the closure saved “only £60,000”, which was not a large amount in the council’s overall budget
  • the budget line behind the decision did not name the Botanic Gardens
  • no officer report on how the decision was made had been put before the committee
  • the welfare impact of moving the birds should have been a key decision in its own right

Cllr Williams, the Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, replied that the claim of no chance to scrutinise the decision was “demonstrably not the case”. She listed three meetings in February where it could have been examined: scrutiny on 10 February, Cabinet on 12 February and full Council on 26 February. The minutes record that she “couldn’t comment as to why a decision was taken not to scrutinise the matter on these occasions”.

On the birds, she said the council had been talking to welfare groups and “had taken further advice regarding appropriate rehoming”.

Committee members also asked whether the closure was about saving money, the welfare of the birds, or both. The minutes record the question but not an answer.

What the council’s updated FAQ now says

Sefton rewrote its aviary questions and answers on 23 September. (Sefton Council, Botanic Gardens aviary)

Four points stand out:

  • No bird has been rehomed. “At this time (September 2026), no rehoming has been completed,” the page says.
  • No public display. The council says it is looking for organisations “that agree not to place the birds in a public display”.
  • Donors can ask for their bird back. Anyone who gave a bird to the aviary can email Green Sefton at greensefton2@sefton.gov.uk. They will need “verifiable evidence of your former ownership”, and the same welfare standards apply as for any other new home.
  • The reason. The closure “was and is mainly due to concerns about animal welfare”, the page says, though it adds that it “also had a financial implication” on the 2026/27 budget. It puts the saving at 0.017% of the council’s budget.

The page still says that euthanasia “has been completely ruled out”. It still works to the end of March 2027 as the date by which the birds should have new homes.

The petition, and the council meeting

The council’s own ePetition, run by the Botanic Gardens Community Association and volunteers, had 576 signatures when we checked on Friday. It stood at 298 on 8 September and 485 on 22 September. It closes on 25 October. (Sefton Council ePetitions)

Bar chart of signatures on Sefton Council's own Save The Botanic Gardens Aviary ePetition on the days Southport Today checked: 298 on 8 September, 485 on 22 September and 576 on 25 September 2026. The petition closes on 25 October.
Chart by Southport Today. Paper signatures collected in the park are not included.
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The petition text says its online names “will be added to the ones collected in the park”. Paper signatures are not published, so we cannot count them.

The aviary also came up at full Council on 17 September, where the papers carried a residents’ petition and a motion whose requests to Cabinet included pausing any irreversible steps. The minutes of that meeting have not been published yet. Until they are, we cannot report the outcome from the record. (Sefton Council, Council meeting, 17 September 2026)

The aviary is not on the agenda for the next Cabinet meeting on 1 October. (Sefton Council, Cabinet agenda, 1 October 2026)

What it means for you

The closure stands. The scrutiny route has now been tried and lost, so the written explanation campaigners asked for will not come from that committee.

If you gave a bird to the aviary and want it back, email greensefton2@sefton.gov.uk with proof that it was yours.

If you want to add your name, the council ePetition is open until 25 October. Your ward councillors are on the council’s councillor pages.

Our earlier reports set out what the aviary costs and saves and the background to the scrutiny meeting.

Sources