At today’s Douglas Shire Council  Ordinary Meeting Closed Session, the matter of acquiring an appropriate site to rehouse the Paws and Claws animal refuge was on the agenda.

Douglas Shire Council will undertake a due diligence investigation into the purchase of a new proposed site for a homeless animal shelter at Yule Point Lot 84 SP204459.

Council today determined to conduct further investigations into the proposed site at Lot 84 Captain Cook Highway after extensive analyses of potential sites to house a new Paws and Claws animal shelter over the past 12 months.

The Yule Point site is owned by the Queensland Government and Council will undertake due diligence investigations to determine if it can be purchased by Council for the purpose of an animal shelter and if there are any native title considerations with the proposed location.

Mayor Julia Leu said Council had undertaken exhaustive investigations to determine potential sites for a new animal shelter and this latest option appears to have plenty of merit.

“The location is only 5km south of Craiglie and the proposed location for the animal shelter is well away from residential properties, with plenty of trees on the site and surrounding allotments,” Mayor Leu said.

“This site appears to be ideally suited to house the Paws and Claws facility. The organisation provides an extremely important community service in looking after abandoned and neglected animals in the Douglas Shire and desperately requires a new location.

“The isolation of the site from built-up areas, coupled with the natural surrounding vegetation and terrain and the proximity to Port Douglas to provide greater access for volunteers appear to tick all the boxes at this stage, hence why Council now wants to conduct more intensive investigations.”

Council officers will now conduct the necessary due diligence investigations and prepare another report for a future Ordinary Council Meeting.

Newsport will follow up on the outcome of due diligence investigations to be presented to Council.