On Tuesday, 24th April, we reported that a plot of land off Heyes Lane, which was left to the RSPCA by a wild life enthusiast, has been bulldozed.
David Brown, of 83 Heyes Lane, died in 2007 leaving his house and land to the charity. He wanted the land to be left for wildlife and specifically requested that it was not sold for building but last week workmen arrived and cleared the site.
A spokesperson from the RSPCA said "We are incredibly grateful to Mr Brown for his generous bequest. The funds raised from the sale of his house were put towards the upkeep of cats as he requested.
"Mr Brown wished us in the legacy not to sell the land for building though this wasn't a binding condition of the will. However it is extremely regrettable that we were then not able to use the land in accordance with Mr Brown's wishes.
"We considered other options including using it for local RSPCA branches. At the time of Mr Brown's death in 2007, the plot (0.40 acres) was not viable for use by the RSPCA, especially as there was a moratorium on any planning consents except for housing association schemes or a nursing home.
"This moratorium was due to be in place until 2012, but was then lifted in 2008. At this point it became apparent that the value of land could decrease which would mean less money being available for animals under RSPCA care. So the then Chief Executive decided to proceed with the marketing of the property and the land.
"In 2009 we asked HSBC (the executors) to ask the estate agent who was selling the property and land to notify all adjoining owners of the marketing once it commenced."
The estate agent set a date of July 2010 for bids to be made, in total fifteen bids were received. HSBC accepted the highest offer and the sale of the land was completed in August 2011, which we believe was to Deanbank Investments Ltd, part of the Emerson Group.
The spokesperson added "The RSPCA has used the money from the sale of the land for its animals at the nearest wildlife rescue centre, Stapeley Grange as well as some other RSPCA centres."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
Dean Bank Investments are in fact part of the Emerson Group
http://www.facebook.com/RSPCA
Let us hope it might be possible to do something about it, although I doubt it.
http://ventnorblog.com/2011/03/24/housing-development-on-rspca-land-rejected/
I'm not sure what could be done, as I said, I'm not a lawyer. Maybe Mr Brown's executors could consider suing the RSPCA. Perhaps a local lawyer might be prepared to look at this on a "pro bono" basis. If it could be proved that the sale of the land was unlawful, then it might cast doubt over Deanbank Investments' legal ownership. That's all speculation for the time being. What is fact is that this is not an isolated example. The RSPCA recently tried to get planning permission for the development of land at Totland on the Isle of Wight, that had been left to it as a bequest to be used as grazing in perpetuity. They hoped to be able to increase the value before selling it. Fortunately their planning application was turned down. They may be registered as a charity, but their commercial ethics leave a lot to be desired.
The problem is that I don't doubt what has been done is legal, alas it is just disregard for a generous mans wishes. Guess on the end we will just have to suck it up and learn from it.
My daughter, who lives in Peterborough, adopted a Westie (ostensibly spayed) from her local RSPCA shelter 4 years ago and was assured that it had a skin problem that would clear up within a few weeks. She paid somewhere in the region of £130 and has been saddled with large vet's bills ever since. She also discovered that the dog had not been spayed, and although the shelter agreed to do this, they procrastinated to such an extent that my daughter finished up paying for the operation privately. Not once did the society return a phone call.
Not exactly dependable, and no more subscriptions from me.
You are correct that respect of the terms of the bequest was the responsibility of the RSPCA rather than Jones Homes. Apart from the ethical question, I would also question the financial competency of the RSPCA.
According to another report, the RSPCA sold both the house and land for £295,000. Assuming that the house was worth around £200,000, that means that they received less than £100,000 for the land. And they were worried that the value of the land would decrease?! Since there is space for about a dozen homes on a similar scale to Belmont Cottages, if Jones Homes get planning permission I would estimate the value of the site in the order of £2,000,000. The RSPCA has also damaged their ability to attract legacies by far more than the receipts from the sale.
The main criticism of Jones Homes is that they have cynically cleared the site in order to pre-empt objections to planning permission on grounds such as animal protection, open green space, potential tree preservation orders etc. We have seen similar action recently by the developers of the Royal Oak site. We all need to increase our vigilance to protect other sites in and around the village, and trust that our local councils will take vigorous protection and enforcement action.
The name of Peter Jones and Emerson developments rears it head regularly in the village and often with a negative response from villagers. So come on Peter, now is your chance to redeem yourself with your neighbours! Replant the land, and allow nearby residents to enjoy rather than the prospect of being overlooked by new housing with its accompanying noise, access problems and increased traffic.
On the Jones issue....don't us British just love to have a pop at successful people?!
Both the RSPCA and Jones Homes/ Emersons (whatever name they want to go under) are equally complicit in this appalling disregard for Mr Brown's final instructions. The RSPCA for relying on legal protection for their knowing disrespect for his final wishes and Jones Homes for destroying the natural habitat prior to application for planning permission.
What? Is £707M not enough personal fortune, Mr Jones? Is being ranked 110th most wealthy in the UK not sufficient?
Steve Savage, could you explain how the £295,000 purchase of the land could be described as a 'kind donation'? Are you aware of the definition of the word 'donation'?
We British don't despise 'successful people' per se. We just despise people who have complete disregard for other people, particularly those who are less fortunate. I think your question speaks volumes. About you. "If the RSPCA can't realise a financial benefit from this deal then what is the point?"
You are also wrong about the residents here we would much prefer to see animals on this land. We are all united here and gathering information from whereever we can to try to fight for Davids wishes.
The company who came in and bulldozed the land without any application for planning????... Why were the established old oak trees cut down with no planning application on the Cheshire East web site????
I can see other people have had to apply for cutting down trees..... even with no TPO on them. Councillors are you reading???
Can any one from the council come forward and help the Heyes Lane residents in their quest to restore David's land back to a natural habitat...... (I DOUBT IT)
In terms of the value of the land, Alan Davies is missing the point somewhat - assuming that you can build 10/12 houses on and sell them for £200,000 does not make the land worth £2,000,000 - unless the cost of the building the houses is zero.
It is nothing to do with NIMBYISM!!!!..... I would be supporting David Browns last wishes if he lived at the other side of the country... even if he worded his will in a different way I am sure a loop hole would have been found for monitary gain...There is a sence of morals here not being upheld to..... Thank God there are people out there like Mr Michael Orange with a sence of dignity and respect who honour peoples last wishes
The estate agent set a date of July 2010 for bids to be made, in total fifteen bids were received. HSBC accepted the highest offer and the sale of the land was completed in August 2011, which we believe was to Deanbank Investments Ltd, part of the Emerson Group.
Did anyone notified raise objections or concerns when the property was marketed in 2010?
I mentioned this ourageous outome to a friend of mine who deals with wills, trusts, legacies etc.
He is not in the slightest surprised by the behaviour of the RSPCA. In his experience charities generally act with impunity to the wishes of the benefactor - they are only interested in maximising cash.
My take on this. Make sure the terms of any benefit from a will to a charity are unambiguous and actionable.
This sorry tale is just another illustration of how the RSPCA is NOT interested in animal welfare first and foremost, it is effectively a commercial organisation. I would however support the comments made by Samantha Palmer above - it is the national organisation we are talking about here, not a locally run and locally funded shelter.
It is therefore important that the word is spread to people wishing to help animals that they understand exactly where their money is going and how it is likely to be spent. I for one would be happy to see my donation helping the local shelter but I would not wish it to go on vast salaries for management or misleading television adverts! The devil is in the detail.
Sadly it is too late for Mr Brown's wishes to be honoured and it is tragic that they have been so callously ignored, that this small sanctuary has been lost to the local wildlife and that his money has disappeared into the coffers to be spent on who knows what...
I do a lot to help out my local RSPCA, I'm even doing a sponsored abseil down a lighthouse this Saturday to raise money for them.
I would not be doing the same for the National RSPCA, unfortunately, as, like Kirsteen said, the money isn't going towards helping animals in need, in my opinion they are a pretty poor excuse for a so called 'animal charity'. It says a lot about who is behind these organisations...the government!
"Over the years, gifts left to us by people in their Wills have helped us build and maintain our animal centres and hospitals. Today, these gifts are as vital as ever, allowing us to invest in essential new facilities like a veterinary suite at Ashley Heath Animal Centre near Bournemouth.
In fact, gifts left to us in Wills pay for over half of all our work. In 2011 they helped us rescue or collect nearly 120,000 animals, treat more than 200,000 animals in our hospitals and investigate over 155,000 cruelty complaints."