Business owner ‘left in the gutter’ over virus funds
Boss in row with council over support:
THE owner of a Bridgend leisure park for dogs claims she has been “left in the gutter” after being rejected for Welsh Government funding during the coronavirus pandemic.
Fur Indoors on the Brynmenyn Industrial Estate hosts events, shows, training, exercise and leisure facilities for dogs and their owners.
It also operates a shop on the site and Doggy Day Care seven days a week, along with a small amount of kennel boarding which accounts for 10% of the facility.
Owner Sam CaldwellThorne argues she is being blocked by Bridgend Council from receiving the Welsh Government support. She claims the council has failed to carry out due diligence by failing to make basic checks regarding the firm’s eligibility for financial help.
She argues the council has incorrectly branded Fur Indoors as being mainly a kennel business.
Being marked as this means it is not recognised as eligible for funding under the Welsh Government’s Retail and Leisure Grant and associated Business Rates Relief criteria.
It has resulted in the application for funding being rejected.
Bridgend Council said any business which is unsuccessful can submit new or additional information to apply for Welsh Government funding.
The Welsh Government said the issue was one for the council to deal with.
However, Fur Indoors claims it has had no response from Bridgend Council for weeks despite trying to contact it about the rejection and this is putting the business’ survival at risk, Ms CaldwellThorne claims.
She said Bridgend Council is using section 20(i) of the Retail and Leisure Grant and associated Business Rates scheme to throw out the application.
Ms Caldwell-Thorne argues rejection is only valid if a business is predominantly or wholly operating as one of the types of businesses listed under section 20(i), in this case a kennel.
Fur Indoors maintains that it is not wholly or predominantly operating as a kennel as it is primarily a leisure facility for dogs, along with its shop, with only a portion of it being kennels.
As a result, Ms CaldwellThorne argues it should therefore be eligible for financial support.
Ms Caldwell-Thorne added: “This business has been a labour of love and it feels as though all that blood, sweat, tears and my life savings will have been for nothing.
“After losing my husband to suicide in 2008 I spent a long time putting myself back together and planning how I could make a future after such devastation.
“In 2015 Fur Indoors was born and we spend a lot of our time supporting rescue centres and much, much smaller rescue facilities locally, helping to ease the pressure on them and providing thousands of pounds of support to them in services and fundraising events.
“My team are amazing, they are the most dedicated and caring people you could ever hope to meet and I consider them family.
“The weight and fear on my shoulders right now to secure their incomes is taking its toll and the decision made by Bridgend Council to reject our application has had a huge impact on us all. We cannot get a response from the council, we cannot get through to them by phone. We feel like we have been left in the gutter, kicked to one side.”
A spokesman for Bridgend Council said: “All applications are subject to the same Welsh Government criteria and are processed according to the information that a business chooses to provide.
“To date, there have been 2,068 successful applications and we have awarded more than £25.8m funding.
“If a business which has been unsuccessful wishes to submit new or additional information in support of an application, the council will be happy to consider it in line with the same guidance and criteria.”