Haslingden zoo with owls, snakes and parrots set to open at mill site after community support

Emma’s Crazy Creatures, which currently runs in Rochdale, has been given permission to open at Unit 10, Ewood Bridge Mill, Manchester Road, Haslingden.

In total, 52 people wrote letters of support for the scheme to Rossendale Borough Council, with one person objecting.

The facility will be available for members of the public to pre-book via the website to attend sessions, each with a maximum capacity of up to 10 families. People will be able to hold and interact with the animals, as well as learning about each creature.

A planning statement adds: “Alongside this, and again on a pre-booking basis, there will be the offering of the facility for events e.g. childrens parties, where groups can attend for sessions to again interact with and learn about the animals, their habitats etc. The proposal includes for a small café area, and associated kitchen/food and drink preparation area. This is for use solely by pre-booking customers attending sessions at Emma’s Crazy Creatures.”

The hours of operation are to be Monday-Friday 10am to 8pm; Saturday 10am to 6pm; Sundays and Bank Holidays 10am to 6pm.

The business has already worked with hundreds of schools, celebrating special occasions and appearing at public events. Most recently, the applicant has worked with the Rossendale Leisure Trust on the Holiday Activity and Food programme (HAF program), offering holiday clubs for up to 60 children.

The business currently employes the equivalent of eight full time employees, across a pool of over 25 members of staff working various part-time and full time positions. It also supports local colleges and universities, providing work experience for students looking for future careers in animal related fields such as zoology, veterinary science and animal care.

The exterior of the mill building will be largely unchanged, but there will be outdoor naturalistic enclosured incorporared at the ground floor. The enclosures are to be made from aluminium frames to safely house a range of animals that require access to outdoor living space during part of the day. These specific animals are to be brought in at closing time for safety purposes and will not have access to the outdoor area overnight.

There will be 11 parking spaces for employees and visitors. Five parking spaces are to be lost due to the alterations to the site layout, but there are an additional 25 car parking spaces throughout the wider site that are freely available for use by visitors and staff.

Decision

The planning officer concluded: “The development is, on balance, acceptable in principle and would not unacceptably affect the employment land supply in the borough. The proposal would support and generate employment and would result in economic, social and leisure benefits in the Borough.

“Subject to conditions the development would not unacceptably detract from neighbour amenity or highway safety. The low level of harm to the NonDesignated Heritage Asset and potential harm to the character and appearance of the area is considered to be outweighed by the overall benefits of the development, and it may be possible to mitigate the potential harm through securing a suitable and high-quality design of the enclosures.”