A lion keeper in a Nottinghamshire village says animal welfare and public safety are at the "forefront" of his work after a fractious planning meeting rejected changes to his site. One resident was accused of creating "hysteria" at the meeting by suggesting that somebody will end up being eaten at Reece Oliver's enclosure.
Mr Oliver has become well-known across the country for his lion enclosure, which figures including Ross Kemp and Stacey Dooley have visited. Based in the village of Strelley, retrospective planning permission was first given in 2019 for Mr Oliver to keep wild cats at the site.
Since then, permission has been given for the building of a lions' den and the extension of the enclosure. But the site received a setback at a Broxtowe Borough Council planning meeting on Wednesday (June 7), which rejected a retrospective application for the building of a viewing platform.
What is the best café in Nottinghamshire? Let us know in our survey here.
The platform, which has already been constructed and is now based at the site, features a wooden staircase and glass balustrade which overlooks the lions' den. Planning officers had recommended that the work should be approved, with a report before councillors at Wednesday's meeting saying: "Due to the siting of the balcony and viewing platform, set back from the public footpath and set behind existing fencing and mature hedgerow, public views of the proposal are limited.
"The additions are considered to be of a size and scale that are in keeping with the existing structures. They have been constructed using materials to match the existing enclosure and are not considered to be so substantial as to significantly increase the scale or appearance of the existing enclosure."
Speaking at the meeting, Reece Oliver explained the purpose of the viewing platform by saying: "The balcony is there for myself to be able to safely view the animals from a height where we can view the whole enclosure. This balcony creates a safety barrier that the lions cannot get to, it also enables us to be able to check all the enclosure and make sure there is nothing that is leaning or touching the perimeter fence, which is for public safety reasons.
"We can also feed them from the balcony... Animal welfare and public safety is at the forefront of everything I do in Strelley and I believe that these structures and this balcony aid both of those criteria."
But the meeting saw councillors rejecting the new viewing platform. When retrospective planning applications are refused, councils can issue enforcement notices demanding that sites be returned to how they were beforehand, though the applicants can also appeal both the initial refusal and the enforcement notice.
One public speaker at the meeting was local resident Peter Walker, who said: "We have one neighbour at the top of the village where this platform will be looking straight into his living room. From what he's saying [the lions are] extremely dangerous because he can't go in and see these lions and feed them.
"It's not like feeding a cat by hand. Basically at some stage, somebody will get eaten in my view."
This view was dismissed by one councillor at the meeting as "hysteria" which "really adds nothing." One councillor in support of the application was Councillor Stephen Carr, who said: "This is a licenced premise and it is regularly visited by this council's environmental department who deem it to be safe enough to give it a licence.
"When you go round the countryside, we're not bothered if we see horses in fields or cows in fields - they're not tame you know. They have been known to actually kill people.
"They're not subjected to the same stringent security as these cats are. I think there's again a lot of hoo-ha here being whipped up by people. All we're asking is that something that is already there is actually upgraded to health and safety standards and yet this is an opportunity yet again for people to grandstand."
But Councillor Philip Owen, speaking in opposition to the application, added: "This yet again is a retrospective planning application. Every application that's come from this applicant has been a retrospective application. In other words, the work has been done without planning permission and because residents of the village have made complaints, an application has had to be submitted."
The report before councillors at the meeting also noted that the viewing platform would not meet health and safety legislation if used commercially, but Mr Oliver insisted it would only be for personal use. The meeting also heard that there are now five cats at the enclosure after an implant inserted in the original male lion failed to prevent the birth of two cubs.
Mr Oliver said he "never wanted to breed lions" but that it isn't safe to vasectomise males. He added that a suitable implant has now been found for the female lion, but that she will be kept separate from the male when she comes into season as a further precaution.
Read next:
- Download Festival organisers apologise as revellers slam 'shambles' after M1 traffic chaos
- 'Ridiculous' parking outside Nottinghamshire school leading to dangerous 'near miss' situations
- Nottingham Met Office weather forecast as heat alert issued with 26C predicted
- Expansion planned to Trent Navigation's 'incredibly successful' fanzone
- Hidden nail shop opens in Nottingham city centre after successful expansion
