A new animal shelter for the North Otago SPCA in a Thames St building has been given resource consent by the Waitaki District Council.
The branch is now drawing up plans to use the former Mastertrade building in Thames St for the shelter.
SPCA committee member Kay King said the resource consent approval was positive news and had been achieved with the ongoing support of Vetlife Oamaru, which had offered use of the building next to its new premises on the corner of Thames and Torridge Sts.
"It means the RSPCA is one step closer to being able to remain operating in North Otago," she said yesterday. Last year, the branch started raising money for a new shelter after its Stuart St premises failed an RNZSPCA inspection.
The branch had wanted to build an independent purpose-built shelter on Waitaki District Council land in Redcastle Rd, but the day-to-day running costs made it uneconomical.
Instead, it was offered ongoing help by Vetlife and the use of a neighbouring building.
Mrs King said the next step was to prepare plans for the building to council specifications. It was hoped to put the project out for tender "very, very soon".
At that stage, the branch would know how much the project would cost, but it had estimated it could be as much as $200,000.
Last year it started fundraising for the project. The RSPCA is regulated by the Government but receives no financial support.
Its only income is from donations, committee-organised fundraising and from re-homing of the animals.
"We are a very small committee with not a lot of experience in these matters and it would very much appreciated if some wonderful people in the community would join us, as there is still much to be achieved," she said.
