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A state-of-the-art new animal Pound and Rehoming Centre for the Tweed is one step closer following the lodgement of a development application for the new facility.
Lodged by Council on 1 February, the DA is now open for public comment until Tuesday 28 February after Councillors voted to extend the exhibition period by two weeks at last week’s Council meeting.
The proposed new development will be constructed on Council-owned land at 92 - 102 Lundberg Drive, South Murwillumbah and will replace Council’s former Pound facility at Stotts Creek, which closed in 2019.
The former Pound at Stotts Creek was closed after it was found to be flood-prone and the area was required as part of the expansion of Council’s Resource and Recovery Centre.
Since the closure, Council has worked in partnership with not-for-profit organisation Friends of the Pound and entered into a temporary commercial arrangement with a private property at Tygalgah for the boarding and care of impounded animals.
The new L-shaped building facility will accommodate Council’s primary rehoming partner, Friends of the Pound, and will include administrative space for Council Rangers.
Council’s Director Planning and Regulation Vince Connell said the DA had been developed following widespread consultation with the local community and industry experts.
“In advancing the new proposal at South Murwillumbah, we consulted extensively with our primary rehoming partner, Friends of the Pound, local vets and animal welfare experts, as well as our own internal staff stakeholders to ensure the new facility would provide the most contemporary, humane, sustainable and efficient care of any impounded animals,” Mr Connell said.
“The new centre will be open to the public 7 days a week and have the capacity to house up to 80 companion animals – 40 dogs and 40 cats – in need of their new homes.
“The new facility has provided an opportunity to consolidate our Council Rangers and Animal Management administrative offices with our operational areas, making for much safer and more secure oversight of the impounded animals.
“It also includes space for animal enrichment at the rear of the property which is an important element of the design.”
The architect-designed pound and rehoming facility had been prepared in accordance with the latest animal welfare standards including the NSW Department of Primary Industries - NSW Animal Welfare Code of Practice No 5 - Dogs and cats in animal boarding establishments.
The proposal is classified as a Regionally Significant Development and will be determined on an independent basis by the Northern Regional Planning Panel.
Pending approval and a tender process expected to be finalised by the end of 2023, construction will start, with the facility expected to be operational by the second half of 2024.
Residents are encouraged to view the Development Application and its supporting documentation, including architectural drawings and a Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) on Council’s Development Tracker and search for application DA22/0793.
For more information on the Pound, visit tweed.nsw.gov.au/tweed-pound.
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