Planning permission for wildlife hospital

Saturday 22 October 2022

The GSPCA has been given planning permission to build a new wildlife hospital at its headquarters in St Andrews.

The approval means the charity can demolish some of the older buildings on the site which date back to the 1940s, replacing them with modern, purpose-built amenities designed by DLM Architects.

Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said the new wildlife hospital will help the charity care for the 2500+ animals that come through their doors every year.

Pictured: Steve Byrne, GSPCA Manager.

“At the GSPCA we are delighted to announce the planning permission has been approved for the new much needed wildlife hospital and demolish the old buildings. A new wildlife hospital is well over-due not only for us here at the GSPCA but for the whole of the Channel Islands.

“We often have wildlife from Alderney, Sark, Herm and even Jethou at the GSPCA. We help over 2500 wild animals and birds every year and you’d be surprised what we get called out for.

“In recent years we have helped Olivia the loggerhead turtle, Fortune the dolphin, many oiled birds this winter, over 700 hedgehogs a year, Pedro the puffin, we currently have two seals and we have even been called out to help an eel in the middle of the road on a rainy day."

Geoff George, Animal Collection Officer and Head of Marine Mammals at the GSPCA, said the new hospital will help many wildlife patients. 

“With two grey seal pups we are able to provide what they need but the new wildlife hospital would give much better facilities and if we were needed to help more than six seals then we would be able to do so.

"Day and night we are called out to help wildlife and we often help the other islands also. I’m called out to help rescue more wildlife than domestic animals and it would be fantastic to have a new building for them as many of the wildlife areas are in need of replacing and rebuilding.”

Pictured: Geoff George deals with all of the marine wildlife at the GSPCA including the seals they save.

GSPCA Senior Animal Care Assistant, Yvonne Chauvel said all of the staff are pleased the planning permission has been granted.

“It is such wonderful news that we have planning permission for the wildlife hospital, and we now need the support and donations to build this new, much needed facility.

“I have worked and helped at the GSPCA for over 25 years and although we have made improvements for the wildlife in our care, we have needed new wildlife facilities for some time.”

Although plans for building the new facility have been approved, the GSPCA does not have all of the money in place to pay for it yet.

Mr Byrne says they need approximately £2million to cover all of the costs, and so far they have around £300,000 to go towards it. 

“We have raised and had pledged £300,000 towards the proposed Wildlife Hospital, so we have a long way to go to the £2,000,000 and every penny helps and is very much appreciated. We have had to re-look at the plans as build costs have gone up in many ways. For the last 2 years it has really been a battle to ensure we get through not just with funding but with all the struggles the pandemic has brought.

“In 2023 we celebrate 150 years helping the animals of Guernsey and wouldn’t it be fantastic next year to open a new wildlife hospital?

"We are really hoping to start work on the much-needed facility as soon as we can and cannot achieve this without the amazing support of our fabulous community."

“There are many ways to help us towards to the proposed Wildlife Hospital from a donation to Buying a Brick, becoming a Build Sponsor to paying for an actual room or area of the building and to find out more please check out our website, call 257261 or email steve@gspca.org.gg .”

"We have all seen Blue Planet 2 and what we are doing to our environment and this build would help the 1000's of animals of Guernsey that are found sick or injured each year back to the wild."