A charity animal sanctuary is appealing for help to raise more than £2,000 after having to apply for permission to continue to use its site.

The Happy Pants Ranch at Bobbing, near Sittingbourne, had to request a formal change of use, from farmland to a sanctuary, after moving from its previous base at Yelsted earlier this year.

Founder Amey James said the process of lodging the application with Swale council had initially cost the charity £462, but now the fee has risen by about five times that amount.

Amey said: “The first fee was already a big lump from the charity’s account, but totally unavoidable.

“However, as we were needing residential use for volunteers and wanted to add more sheds, the council calculated the amount of space being used by the sanctuary and the fee has gone up to £2,310.

“That’s such a huge amount of money to a small, independent charity that relies solely on public donations.

“Imagine what food or medical care £2,310 could buy the animals and, quite frankly, I think it’s a disgusting price for the council to ask a registered charity for.”

Amey has now started a fundraiser to raise enough money to cover the cost of the application.

“Let’s just hope after all the time, energy and money that has gone into the application, it gets granted,” she said. “I’m asking if anyone could please donate. Even just £1 will help the sanctuary reach the goal.”

The setback comes just weeks after Amey feared she could end up being fined £2,500 after complaints were made about the rescue centre’s noisy geese and cockerels.

The ranch had been asked to stop “allowing animals on the land to make an unreasonable level of noise” by Swale council. Noise was also said to be coming from a generator at the site.

Amey said: “I have the environmental department at Swale council telling me I need to move the cockerels to another part of the land or face a £2,500 fine because of their crowing, and yet the planning department is stating if the charity moves or erects anything - even a shed or field shelter - whilst the planning application is undecided, then this is classed as ‘development’ and that the plans have to be resubmitted at a cost of £2,310 to the charity. Talk about a rock and a hard place.”

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