Storm Eunice Update

It’s hard to believe now, but Storm Eunice hit the Sanctuary in February of this year. Following on from the devastation it heralded, we had various contractors and volunteers in attempting to fix the extensive damage. Our main concern was the broken fencing and the damaged shelters, as both of these have direct impact upon the animals’ welfare.

Following the storm, we had to move many of our horses into different fields and paddocks due to damaged and unsafe fencing that was not secure for them to stay in. Many of these paddocks we either save for summer months or are not suitable to hold horses long term and so the fencing needed to become a priority.

Additionally, a large volunteer group party came up one Sunday and proceeded to clear a lot of the damaged structures, fencing and debris, leaving big pieces in situ with the hope that they can be rebuilt where they laid. We were very grateful for the help they provided.

Over the course of the next 2 weeks, we had a fencing contractor team in to repair the broken sections of fencing, which was done swiftly and efficiently, and all the fencing is now completed.

Simultaneously we had a roofing company in to repair a skylight in the main building, tiles that had come down, an exterior floodlight that had been severely bent, roofing slates that had come off one of our buildings, and also the main electricity cable loom that had been pulled off that same building.

Work is now starting on repairing and rebuilding the shelters. The one that was in the best shape has already been completed by our handyman volunteer Jon. A new roof is being put on top of the shelter at the back of our barn from which the felting was ripped off and timber roof structures damaged, and which is now being replaced by a tin roof. Then there are still lots of smaller jobs that will require work in the next phase! Although the storm may have only lasted a short time, it has certainly left a lasting legacy on the Sanctuary.

We would like to thank everyone that has donated towards this appeal so far, and those many people who have helped physically at the Sanctuary and have allowed for this work to be completed and continue. Without your donations we would struggle to finance such a large-scale restoration and we are extremely grateful. That said there is a huge deficit in the costs and still more to do so, if you haven’t yet contributed to our appeal, we would be most grateful if you could. You can do so via the link here: www.justgiving.com/campaign/rebuild-remus-after-eunice.