A 15-acre plot in West Bay will be the home of a modern new animal shelter featuring an in-house veterinary surgery, outdoor recreational areas and a dog-walking trail.
The Central Planning Authority published approval of the Cayman Islands Humane Society’s plans on Thursday, 2 March, describing the site as suitable for its proposed use.
For nearly three decades, the society has worked from a small wooden shelter based in George Town which houses a maximum of 150 animals and is often at capacity.
The ageing building on North Sound Road is prone to flooding, meaning many housed dogs and cats regularly need to be quickly moved and cared for elsewhere.
But the beginning of a solution came a few years ago when a large plot of land off Captain Reginald Parsons Road was left in trust to the society.
Plans for the site, created with input from shelter staff, were presented to the authority on 18 Jan. and then again on 15 Feb. to allow the applicant and objectors to appear in person.
‘Nice residential area’
Two objections were raised during the meeting. The first was from a local homeowner who said they were supportive of the project but spoke of several concerns.
They expressed worries over the approval of commercial building on residential land, of excessive dog waste, the size of signs and of the veterinary service remaining in-house.
“The CPA should understand that this area is one of the nice residential areas of West Bay that is in a gated community,” the objector said.
“There is plenty of land available for future residential development and the CPA should try to protect this area for the overall good of the future homeowners of the district.”
A second objector wrote a letter with concerns about the site boundary, excessive noise, and the number of feral dogs at the shelter.
Minimal conflict risk
Describing reasons for its approval, the authority said there is very little development in the immediate area so potential for conflict is minimal and access is adequate.
It added there are no physical constraints on the site to prevent the development of the shelter and infrastructure to support the development is sufficient.
And while there were two sets of objections to the plans neither raised grounds for refusing permission, the authority said.
The Cayman Islands Humane Society were unavailable for comment up to press time.
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