Northumberland Country Zoo forced to get bank loan to cover lockdown loss

A zoo hit hard by the coronavirus lockdown has been forced to take out a £100,000 bank loan to survive.

Northumberland Country Zoo (NCZ) near Morpeth costs about £9,000 a week to maintain with all funds coming from visitors.

Even when it reopens on 4 July, visitor numbers will be reduced to about 40%, curator Maxine Bradley said.

"It's very worrying," said Ms Bradley, who "loses sleep" over the thought of a potential second wave closure.

"We're pretty savvy business wise and have never had to borrow before," Ms Bradley said, adding: "We have always only spent what we earned."

She said the zoo took its first huge hit by having to close during the Easter holidays, a time when diminished winter funds are replenished by a surge in visitors.

Ms Bradley said public donations of more than £40,000 have helped the zoo survive so far, for which she was "very thankful", although there was a delay in collecting its donations from GoFundMe.

By the time the government launched a zoo support fund in May, NCZ had already got its bank loan and was ineligible for the scheme.

Ms Bradley said the situation was frustrating but she was looking forward to welcoming visitors again.

A raft of measures has been put in place to keep visitors distanced from each other.

Tickets must be booked in advance, a one-way system has been set up and indoor areas limited to one family at a time, although 90% of the zoo is outdoors.

The restaurant will be open but the zoo has had to invest in eco-friendly single use cutlery and plates.

"Thankfully they can be composted but buying single use anything is not the direction we would want to go in," Ms Bradley said.

Visitor numbers have grown rapidly in the zoo's five years with 100,000 expected this year, up from 65,000 last year.

Ms Bradley does fear a second wave of infections, and said the pandemic was "a very worrying situation," for zoos.

"I see some people say they won't go back to zoos until next year, we are all worried there might not even be a next year."

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