Local people have stepped in with an interest-free loan of nearly £30,000 to save the site of a Nottinghamshire horse rescue charity from the bulldozers.
The community stepped in after Brinsley Animal Rescue learned that the five acres of land it rented was to be sold at auction and were concerned that this would lead to them losing the field to development.
Jon Beresford of the charity said: “We were informed that land we rented for our rescue animals was being sold by auction with a very short deadline.
“In a short space of time, we put a plan into action and to our surprise, we were successful in our bid and soon the land will legally be owned by the charity.
“We needed funds and quickly, and in just a few days we have secured nearly £30,000 in interest-free loans from our amazing local community of Brinsley. In addition, we have dipped deep into our reserves to fund this purchase.”
Financial implications
Mr Bereford said the financial impact of the purchase would have implications for the sanctuary, so they have now launched a fundraiser to raise money to pay back their loans and top up the charity’s funds again.
“A group of horse-loving neighbours have saved a field from being developed so that it can continue to be used by rescued animals,” he said.
“Now we need to raise in total £75,000 — the costs of buying the land, sales costs and legal fees.”
So far, the fundraiser has raised nearly £4,000 in just a week.
A meeting of the locals
The field at Brinsley Animal Rescue is home to horses Rosie and Dillwin.
Neighbour Alison Kirk came up with the idea of helping the charity fund the purchase because she enjoys watching the two horses from her home.
She called a meeting of the locals and they hatched the plan to loan the charity the money to buy the land.
She told BBC Nottingham: “They’re wonderful horses. The older one is called Rosie. She’s quite feisty but she’s quite old, I think. She’s a lovely character.
“Dillwin is a retired racehorse and I think he didn’t win a lot of races, so he couldn’t make a lot of money for people, so he was rescued before the inevitable happened.
“He’s lovely, he’s very gentle.
“The heart-warming thing was that people were genuinely wanting to help and encourage and support.”
