Thanks to a huge effort by the local community, Greenwich Council has agreed to continue running the Animal Park in Maryon Wilson Park.
Financial cuts threatened the closure of the much loved part of the park, which houses almost 100 animals. Nearly all would have had to be rehoused. But pressure from SOAP – Save Our Animal Park – which organised a petition with 11,000 signatures, and held a meeting attended by 250 people in a local church, forced councillors to remove the proposed cut from their budget.
The meeting made it clear that it was impractical to talk about local people running the Animal Park in future, which had been tried and failed ten years ago, when the Council also had to take back responsibility for doing so.
A statement from the Council said: “While everyone accepts that tough choices need to be made for the council to deliver a balanced budget and remain financially stable, we understand the weight of public sentiment.
“Having engaged with residents, community leaders and those who run the park, we’re going to remove the proposal from this year’s budget and explore ways to make sure the park stays open for years to come.”
Friends Of Maryon Park and Maryon Wilson Park 