February 28, 2020 2.10 pm This story is over 49 months old

Emergency home approved for flood-hit Lincoln horse charity

Bransby Horses lost more than 40% of its facilities
The flooding at Bransby had a devastating impact. Photo: Bransby Horses

Equine welfare charity Bransby Horses, which lost 40% of its facilities to major flooding last year, has had an application for temporary facilities in Langworth approved.

West Lindsey District Council officers gave the green light to the organisation’s plans for land South West of Barlings Lane to build new animal welfare facilities, including staff facilities, treatment areas and stabling.

Officers said: “A two year temporary permission is appropriate to allow for removal of the buildings from the site.

“No harm to residential amenity is anticipated. There would be no harm to highway safety and drainage matters are acceptable therefore temporary permission should be granted.”

The land will house around 80 of the charity’s 450 current horses for around 12-18 months as bosses wait to find out how much long-term damage has been done to their current facilities.

Bransby Horses’ site was flooded earlier this year. Photo: Bransby Horses

It comes after the Environment Agency told the rescue centre to close their drain valves and voluntarily flood the site to prevent further flooding in Lincoln during heavy rains in November.

More than 40% of the centre’s facilities were hit and roots and grass were damaged. The ground was also polluted with waste, including human excrement.

The charity said it will take at least a year to fix the issue – with the true extent of damage not expected to be known until Spring.

Horses are currently using fields which have not been “rested” properly, while the charity’s rehoming programme is encouraging horse-owners and some of its 500 foster homes to try to hold off bringing animals back to the centre until the issues are sorted.

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