OUR STORY
Pennine Animal Welfare Society started off with very humble beginnings in our founder member’s flat. Sue Curran started taking in unwanted cats and dogs from 2007 but quickly found that demand outstripped supply in terms of vet’s bills, food supplies and space. Following a meeting with like-minded local people in Todmorden, PAWS was born. It gained registered charitable status on 9th December 2014 and has gone from strength to strength ever since. PAWS was located in the Todmorden area and covered a 15 mile radius of the town centre. We are well known for our coffee mornings, having a market stall, organising local events such as dog shows, fetes, Christmas Fairs and offering help to those in need in terms of food to local food banks, help with cat neutering vouchers and giving advice on rehoming and adoption. We rehome widely across the region and take in animals within our catchment area.
PENNINE ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY (P.A.W.S.), a local animal rescue operating as a registered
charity since 2014, is now seeking a new home following the refusal of two planning applications by
Oldham Council. Trustees believed they had found the perfect location for a permanent home for the charity following a request from their landlord to vacate a previously rented site near
Todmorden. It would appear that despite amending the first application significantly, seeking reports for ecological impact, sound, drainage, etc, the council still felt the ‘very special circumstances’ criteria was not met by the second application.
Despite the charity providing evidence that they would mitigate the harm to the greenbelt by living off-grid, installing wildlife corridors on all boundaries and providing a bio-friendly drainage/effluence solution this has not been enough to sway the planning department. The trustees are due to have a further meeting with the council, but it is looking highly unlikely they will come to a satisfactory outcome to suit their needs and address the council’s ongoing concerns.
Plans are now being made by the trustees to sell the land and find another more suitable location.
If you know of a rurally located business with outbuildings and some land to hire or purchase, please get in touch via enquiries@pennineanimalwelfaresociety.org.
PAWS is looking for a building to convert to kennels (or existing), a cattery, some land (minimum of 3 acres) for an exercise area and potential for a residential static caravan.
Susan Curran, Founder & Trustee, said “It is incredibly important that we continue to operate this charity to fulfil the needs of the community as they continue to struggle with the cost of living crisis and find themselves having to give up their family pets as they can no longer afford them. Our rescue provided a safe haven for cats and dogs but we have not been able to return to doing this to our full capacity due to the planning difficulties we’ve been experiencing. We desperately need somewhere that we can either rent on a long-term lease of 10 years or more, or somewhere affordable that we can purchase. We have invested a considerable amount of funds (raised by the general public) into the land at Delph and we have to think carefully about our next steps as it looks like we may have to sell it in order to move on. We were hoping to stay within the area but will cast our net from Burnley across to Halifax once more and down to Rochdale. If anyone knows of a suitable site that is NOT greenbelt, away from residential houses and is situated rurally please get in touch with us immediately.”
PENNINE ANIMAL WELFARE SOCIETY
Susan Curran – Founder & Trustee. 07833 736325
Michele Way – Chair of Trustees. 07748 988242
EMAIL: enquiries@pennineanimalwelfaresociety.org
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​We began a media and fundraising campaign and as a result were fortunate to be able to raise sufficient money earlier this year to purchase a 4 acre plot of land and stables in the Delph area. Our dream of owning our own site was realised!
Currently we are awaiting the re-submission of our planning application to convert the existing stables to kennelling, to add another smaller new kennel block and to install a new cattery on site alongside Sue’s static caravan. We need to have a residential element to the site for 24/7 care and security of the dogs and cats we care for. We previously had permission in Todmorden for this element, as long as the animals were on site. We do not want to build a house, but we do want to ensure our animals are cared for and are living in draught-proof, warm and dry housing. We are looking at sustainable options in terms of solar power, water catchment/filtration and creating the least impact on the land we can. We appreciate the beauty of the countryside around us and we want to ensure that we do as little as possible to detrimentally impact it. However, we do need to have proper drainage installed and a septic tank or similar to ensure we create as little pollution as possible. The noise assessment and report from Highways reveals they have no concerns regarding the site. A preliminary ecological survey will be undertaken too so we can ensure the Council is reassured we have provided enough evidence of our ‘exceptional’ need. We are grateful to all our supporters and thank them for their kind words and letters.
All we want to do is build out as soon as possible and to get on with rescuing cats and dogs in need. Currently, we are receiving between 15-20 calls and emails a day from desperate people asking for help. Please note, we cannot take any new animals into our care until we have made the stables water-tight and we have planning permission in place. We also need to have sufficient funds to pay for everything. We have applied to two national animal charities for grants but if you want to make a regular or one-off donation, or would like to leave a legacy or sponsor an animal or animal housing, then please get in touch via enquiries@pennineanimalwelfaresociety.org. Similarly, we will be looking for tradesmen to help on site. If you can donate your time and/or materials do let us know! We will also be looking to pay for some of the services we require once we are in a better position financially.
You can keep in touch with what we’re up to on our social media, so do like/follow us there and we look forward to seeing you at some point in the future.
