ePetition - Keep our horses in Stanmer!

We are appealing to the council to continue to rent the Dovecote stables, or other stable block buildings and accompanying land to its current tenants. Having horses in the village brings interest, education and engagement with animals and the outdoors to both adults and children. Park users frequently stop at the gate to admire the horses; valuable contact with such animals that many do not otherwise have access to.

Further to this the current tenants are on a pathway to being able to provide equine assisted learning to children and young people with special needs. For the last three years ourselves and our horses have been donating our own time and resources to young people with special needs, aiding their communication, calming their sensory systems, improving challenging behaviour and providing a family experience which families otherwise find difficult to achieve. We wish to expand this to providing a community service to more children and young people as well as potentially school groups. Stanmer provides the perfect setting as it is beautiful, accessible and close to Brighton.

However, with an insecure future ahead, we cannot look to get the correct insurance and licences in place to go ahead with these plans. Please don't let the space become a dry, information only area and please don't let it fall into the hands of those purely interested in making money. Don't take the heart and soul out of Stanmer and give the residents those links to the past by keeping animals in the village as they always have been.

You cannot imagine the impact the experiences we have been able to provide are having on individuals and their families. We are constantly being asked to provide sessions for people, the need is great and we are willing. This could be an invaluable community resource to both visitors to the park and children and young people who otherwise often have very limited access to engaging and beneficial activities such as this. This is life changing to many, lets see the good work continued with a secure tenancy in Stanmer park.

This ePetition ran from 21/03/2017 to 05/04/2017 and has now finished.

254 people signed this ePetition.