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The RSPCA rescue centre in Knowsley will be bulldozed and the land sold to developers with the loss of 17 jobs.

The centre, in Higher Road, Halewood, appears to be the victim of financial difficulties in the animal charity's Liverpool branch - which is heavily subsidised by the national society.

It is due to close at the end of May and the land is set to be converted into housing.

One concerned volunteer, who did not wish to be named, told the ECHO : "I have had first hand experience of how brilliant the staff are there. The animals they deal with come from heart breaking situations, and despite this they still want to love and be loved.

"The staff do such amazing work and will shortly be rewarded by losing their jobs and in some cases their homes. The prospect of jobs at a new regional centre is of no use as there is no current working plan on when or where this will be."

According to accounts from the RSPCA's Liverpool branch, income fell to £271,767 in 2017 - down from £483,728 in 2016.

In 2017 the national society loaned the Liverpool branch more than £500,000, with a commitment to provide a further £150,000.

A report of the branch's trustees said: "In view of the branch financial position the trustees decided to seek approval from the national society to market the site with the intention of using the proceeds of the sale to withdraw from the SVS pension scheme and build a replacement Centre.

"While the society agreed to the marketing of the land, [it] did not agree to the branch building a new centre in view of their concerns over the long term financial viability of the Branch."

The RSPCA said Knowsley Council's decision to re-designate greenbelt land surrounding the centre for residential use had factored in to its decision not to rebuild on the land.

However a spokeswoman for Knowsley Council said the authority had received no planning application for any new centre and had not been involved in any decision to close the existing premises.

The trustees' report also highlights an issue with the centre's role providing boarding and kennelling facilities to the national society.

It said: "While this is an excellent arrangement for the society by saving the costs of private boarding, it is not so attractive financially to the branch as the daily boarding fee only covers a fraction of the actual cost of providing the service.

"In addition, as many of owners of the dogs in our care are to be the subject of court proceedings, the dogs stay with us for considerable periods thus reducing our re-homing income."

A statement from the RSPCA said: "The decision was made to close the RSPCA Liverpool Branch Animal Centre as part of Knowsley Council’s planned redevelopment of the area for residential use.

"With this in mind the the RSPCA Liverpool Branch Animal Centre will close at the end of May 2019. Until that time the animal centre will continue to operate and to look after the animals in its care.

"The animals that are being cared for at the centre will then be moved to alternative RSPCA accommodation...

"There are currently 17 animal centre staff and sadly all will be made redundant. A formal consultation has been held and the staff have been kept up to date throughout the process...

"The trustees of the branch would like to thank supporters for their help over the years and reassure people that the day-to-day business of the branch will continue until the closure.

"They would also like to reassure people that in the future, animals at risk in the Liverpool area will still get the help they need and continue to be cared for at other RSPCA centres."