Rutland Zoo Zoo to reopen at Rutland Water

DesertRhino150

DesertRhino150

Well-Known Member
15+ year member
After being closed for six years, the former butterfly farm at Rutland Water is due to be converted to house a new animal collection. Species planned include stick insects, tarantulas, scorpions, chameleons, parrots, iguanas, foxes, raccoons, bats and sugar gliders, divided up into several areas including a walk-through jungle room, an educational area, a twilight zone and 'Bug City'.

Bugs, bees and bats at new Rutland Water zoo - Rutland and Stamford Mercury

Did anyone else visit the butterfly farm before it closed? I remember there being a corridor filled with tanks of fish native to Rutland Water, the tropical house with butterflies, various birds (cannot remember specific species), red-eared terrapins, iguanas, hingeback tortoises, koi carp, giant land snails and various butterflies free-roaming and a 'bug cave' with various rather common pet-shop invertebrates.
 
An announcement today that Bugtopia in Rutland is under new management and has been renamed Rutland Zoo.

The two other Bugtopia sites at Kettering and Hornsea will remain open and under current management.

Information comes from the Bugtopia (now renamed to Rutland Zoo) Facebook page.
 
Its very very small - unless they have more land I'm not convinced it could be marketed as a true Zoo. In its last generation as Bugtopia it was a couple of buildings and some small outdoor yards. Well under an hour's visit time.
 
The Rutland Zoo's Facebook page has announced that, following the change in restrictions from tomorrow, it will be unable to open as originally planned. This post has pictures showing a Virginia opossum is present in the collection.

Other species pictured on the Facebook page that haven't been mentioned so far here (and are not on the Zootierliste entry for Rutland Zoo) include yellow anaconda, red-eyed tree frog and Eurasian harvest mouse.
 
They will miss out on grants because they were not open the day they were forced to close as a mainly indoor attraction, they cannot open from midnight.
The loss of grants will also apply to any zoo that choose to close in tier 4,and then if they are subsequently closed by a lockdown, they will not be entitled to anything.
 
pipaluk said:
They will miss out on grants because they were not open the day they were forced to close as a mainly indoor attraction, they cannot open from midnight.
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What grants?
pipaluk said:
The loss of grants will also apply to any zoo that choose to close in tier 4,and then if they are subsequently closed by a lockdown, they will not be entitled to anything.
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What grants?

The two versions of the ZooFund (£100,000 and E800,000) cover neither of these scenarios.
Neither do either of leisure industry business rate based grants available during both full lockdowns.
Neither of these grants are prevented by choosing to close or date of forced closure, as one is based on viability and the second on a simple business-rate category calculation.
If their staff can be furloughed at any time up until next April, then they are able to access this - if you call furloughing a 'grant'.
 
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Andrew Swales said:
What grants?

What grants?

The two versions of the ZooFund (£100,000 and E800,000) cover neither of these scenarios.
Neither do either of leisure industry business rate based grants available during both full lockdowns.
Neither of these grants are prevented by choosing to close or date of forced closure, as one is based on viability and the second on a simple business-rate category calculation.
If their staff can be furloughed at any time up until next April, then they are able to access this - if you call furloughing a 'grant'.
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I am referring to the business rate tier 4 grant which is only payable to businesses that are forced to close(if they were already closed they don't qualify) and the lockdown grant was not payable previously to businesses that chose to close before 5th November so if tier 4 changes to lockdown and they are already closed they won't qualify for a lockdown grant. These are the grants I assume they are referring to missing out on in their Facebook post
 
pipaluk said:
I am referring to the business rate tier 4 grant which is only payable to businesses that are forced to close(if they were already closed they don't qualify) and the lockdown grant was not payable previously to businesses that chose to close before 5th November so if tier 4 changes to lockdown and they are already closed they won't qualify for a lockdown grant. These are the grants I assume they are referring to missing out on in their Facebook post
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I had not heard of a tier 4 business rate grant, but will look into it. Does this mean that a third business rate grant is available. We received the £25,000 payment of the first full lockdown + the £2000 for the November lock-down. Both of these figures were the maximum amounts each time. We have had no communication of any kind from the local authority that a third grant is available, this time for a tier 4 lockdown rather than a national full one.
Surely, Rutland is still in tier 3 ? - so does not give any business, tier 4 help ?
 
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Andrew Swales said:
I had not heard of a tier 4 business rate grant, but will look into it. Does this mean that a third business rate grant is available. We received the £25,000 payment of the first full lockdown + the £2000 for the November lock-down. Both of these figures were the maximum amounts each time. We have had no communication of any kind from the local authority that a third grant is available, this time for a tier 4 lockdown rather than a national full one.
Surely, Rutland is still in tier 3 ? - so does not give any business, tier 4 help ?
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The Tier 4 grant, like the lockdown grant is only for businesses forced to close under tier 4 restrictions (unless the government changes the rules). Zoos are not currently forced to close so don't qualify at the moment. As Rutland moved into tier 3, businesses affected by the new restrictions can apply for a local restriction grant, but only if they were open prior to the change in tier, if they were closed through choice before the restrictions forcing them to close came in they do not qualify.
 
pipaluk said:
The Tier 4 grant, like the lockdown grant is only for businesses forced to close under tier 4 restrictions (unless the government changes the rules). Zoos are not currently forced to close so don't qualify at the moment. As Rutland moved into tier 3, businesses affected by the new restrictions can apply for a local restriction grant, but only if they were open prior to the change in tier, if they were closed through choice before the restrictions forcing them to close came in they do not qualify.
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Tier 4 zoos might not be forced to close, at the moment - but they are forced to take a substantial hit on revenue (perhaps 50-75%?) due to the Government and the BBC spreading 'miss-information' by telling people to stay at home and not detailing the current position, ie that zoo visits are permitted.
Perhaps we'll apply for a 50-75% 'forced closure' grant...;) Again I'd never heard of a 'local restriction grant' for lower tiers as this has not been published by the LA either. Is it tiny, like the November full closure grant?
 
Andrew Swales said:
Tier 4 zoos might not be forced to close, at the moment - but they are forced to take a substantial hit on revenue (perhaps 50-75%?) due to the Government and the BBC spreading 'miss-information' by telling people to stay at home and not detailing the current position, ie that zoo visits are permitted.
Perhaps we'll apply for a 50-75% 'forced closure' grant...;) Again I'd never heard of a 'local restriction grant' for lower tiers as this has not been published by the LA either. Is it tiny, like the November full closure grant?
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Sorry, I don't have the exact figures with me but it is a similar amount per month to the lockdown grant i think.
The local restrictions grant applied in tier 2 as well, mainly applying to the hospitality sector and restrictions on mixing indoors. Zoos could possibly argue being required to close their indoor eating facilities means even tier 2 had an affect on them. It would depend how generously the local authority interpretes the rules (which as usual are in some ways vague!)
 
A UK Govt. SI allows zoos in tier 4 to open but it now appears all those that could open have decided to close for the time being, in the spirit of the advice to 'stay at home'. As the furlough scheme continues until end of March 2021, and a further wave of infections is predicted for the new year, I suspect that if they can zoos will remain closed for as long as possible, regardless of whether they can open or not. It appears some zoos can get loans (which have to be repaid) but cannot access grants (which do not have to be repaid), and that the fund set up by the UK Govt to 'help zoos' is really just to 'help zoos that are forced to shutdown completely'.
 
WanderingDragon said:
A UK Govt. SI allows zoos in tier 4 to open but it now appears all those that could open have decided to close for the time being, in the spirit of the advice to 'stay at home'.
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I think "all" should read "some of"-a few have decided to close but many, probably a majority, are still open.
 
Shorts said:
I think "all" should read "some of"-a few have decided to close but many, probably a majority, are still open.
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You are right but there seems to have been an agreement between most of the zoos in the east (all those in the reciprocal half price offer now Banham & Africa Alive are closed from tomorrow plus Colchester) to close, as all have near identical wording explaining why they are closed on their websites. Hamerton, Whipsnade and Woburn are open, but not many others in the region. Having been to the first two recently, I can't understand why so many others think it is unsafe to open outdoor areas.
 
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pipaluk said:
You are right but there seems to have been an agreement between most of the zoos in the east (all those in the reciprocal half price offer now Banham & Africa Alive are closed plus Colchester) to close, as all have near identical wording explaining why they are closed on their websites. Hamerton, Whipsnade and Woburn are open, but not many others in the region. Having been to the first two recently, I can't understand why so many others think it is unsafe to open outdoor areas.
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Interesting, it seems a little unimaginative and defeatist to me but I appreciate I there's a whole spectrum of outlooks out there and there may be factors I'm unaware of.

London/Whipsnade and Marwell are all currently in the open category too*.

*doubt those I've mentioned are anywhere a complete list.
 
WanderingDragon said:
A UK Govt. SI allows zoos in tier 4 to open but it now appears all those that could open have decided to close for the time being, in the spirit of the advice to 'stay at home'. As the furlough scheme continues until end of March 2021, and a further wave of infections is predicted for the new year, I suspect that if they can zoos will remain closed for as long as possible, regardless of whether they can open or not. It appears some zoos can get loans (which have to be repaid) but cannot access grants (which do not have to be repaid), and that the fund set up by the UK Govt to 'help zoos' is really just to 'help zoos that are forced to shutdown completely'.
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Nope...
 
pipaluk said:
Sorry, I don't have the exact figures with me but it is a similar amount per month to the lockdown grant i think.
The local restrictions grant applied in tier 2 as well, mainly applying to the hospitality sector and restrictions on mixing indoors. Zoos could possibly argue being required to close their indoor eating facilities means even tier 2 had an affect on them. It would depend how generously the local authority interpretes the rules (which as usual are in some ways vague!)
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Mmmm.. our local authority offers no help whatsoever in tiers 1, 2 or 3; nothing we have heard or been told of in tier 4; and only a token £2000 per month to businesses in the £15k to £50k rate band in full lockdown.

pipaluk said:
Having been to the first two recently, I can't understand why so many others think it is unsafe to open outdoor areas.
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As Brum says, it doesn't actually look like 'so many others', it is actually just a small group which chosen to go a different route and use the wording you highlight. There could well be (and probably is) a reason for this, but I am afraid that I'm not able to speculate here...
 
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I just hope that those who have been brave enough to stay open get the visitors they deserve over the weekend. I am booked for Whipsnade and Hamerton.
 
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