‘We’re out of it,’ says zoo boss in council rift
Last updated at 15:52, Wednesday, 30 June 2010
ZOO boss David Gill says he will sell the attraction after his expansion plans were delayed by the council’s request for more information.
- ‘This is an example of rip off Britain at its worst’
- ‘We have had objections from several consultees’
Mr Gill said he has axed the £3.6m expansion after Barrow Borough Council delayed the development, saying he must provide them with more information.
Now Mr Gill has jetted off to his home in America, to escape what he calls “Broken Britain”, saying his future lies away from the Dalton zoo.
In a letter to the council (see opposite page) Mr Gill said he was scrapping plans to expand the park, which would have seen the construction of a new car park, entrance and animal enclosures, because of the money and time he has lost as a result of the latest setback.
Speaking to the Evening Mail, Mr Gill said: “We’ve been let down so much by Barrow Borough Council on this, to the point where I am distraught.
“How can we possibly move forward when you don’t know what is round the corner.
“They have changed the goalposts and I don’t know when it will stop.
“They stated to us exactly what they wanted and now they’ve changed it.
“I told my staff a while ago, that if they (the council) come on again and if it is going to cost us any more money and we have any more delays – we’re eight months behind as it is – we can’t do it.
“I’m not going to take the personal risk, put my family’s life and everything else on the line, not knowing what is round the corner from the people on Barrow Borough Council.
“We’re out of it.
“The sad part is, we were going to create a lot more jobs and something very spectacular for the area.
“I’m going away now for five or six weeks and I’m going to make a new life for myself.
“I’m glad to be out of it, glad to be out of the area and glad that I’ve made this decision because at the end of the day, what I created has never been fully appreciated by the council. Yes, I’ll try and keep the company going, but it will certainly be with management that is not me.
“As far as I’m concerned, all I want to do is get out and get my health back because of the stress and the worry that this has caused me.
“All my plans are to move away and to move away for good.
“I’ll put the place up for sale and we’ll see where it goes from there.
“I knew that if this all went wrong I would have no future here.
“My future was either make it (the animal park) bigger, make it better or let’s go.
“The letter was the last straw for me, as that would cost us thousands of pounds and time we haven’t got.
“I think the whole concept of what we aimed to do has gone out of the window.”
Colin Phillips, development control and enforcement manager for Barrow Borough Council, declined to comment on his letter to Mr Gill (see opposite page), or on the reaction of the zoo boss.
First published at 13:13, Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk
Was about to give the council some stick, but having read Animal lover's post I googled Mr. Gill:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and got a different view. If this is true do we want him here anyway?View all 45 comments on this article
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Let him go he is acting like a little child.
Posted by C Lion on 7 July 2010 at 09:24