COUNCIL bosses are set to visit a controversial zoo just hours before making a landmark ruling on its future.
Members of Barrow Borough Council's licensing regulatory committee are to conduct a site visit at South Lakes Safari Zoo at 9am on Tuesday to view animal welfare improvements secured at the location in the past three months.
They will then return to Barrow to begin an official meeting at the town hall just two hours later where they are expected to GRANT a zoo licence to Cumbria Zoo Company Ltd - the firm that has run the Dalton tourist attraction since January.
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If approved, the licence, which will carry a price tag of £111,000 payable to Barrow Borough Council to cover the cost of monitoring the licence over the next 12 months, will be valid for four years.
It will carry a list of conditions compelling the zoo to notify the council before any additional category one animals – which include tigers – arrive on site, reporting any escaped animals and providing education on site about wildlife conservation.
But before taking their final decision on the matter, committee members will hear a range of evidence including that of government zoo inspectors, representatives from the new zoo management committee and veterinary experts.
They will also consider representations made by objectors who include former employees and residents of Melton Terrace, who live near to the zoo's new entrance.
A report to the borough council's licensing regulatory committee states: "The secretary of state inspectors were impressed and highly encouraged by the improvements made since the takeover of full management since January 2017, the palpable change of culture and attitude of all staff, their level of engagement, dedication and enthusiasm, and ambitious plans to move forward.
"The licencing regulatory committee are minded to grant an original licence to Cumbria Zoo Company Limited, for four years and that delegated authority be given to the Environmental Health Manager to issue a licence when Mr Gill either withdraws his appeal against refusal of his fresh licence application or he surrenders his licence."
Should the committee rule against granting a zoo licence to Cumbria Zoo Company, the attraction, which receives around 250,000 visitors every year, would have to close permanently.
An inspection undertaken at the zoo in January sparked international outrage after experts ruled animals were suffering while they were being forced to live in unsuitable conditions.
A stark autopsy report also revealed almost 500 exhibits had died from causes including hypothermia, emaciation and infighting within overstocked enclosures on site in less than four years.
The list included tigers, giraffes, rhinos, lion cubs, snow leopards and a jaguar.
Zoo founder and self-styled animal conservationist David Gill was refused a licence by Barrow Borough Council in March.
Mr Gill lodged an appeal against this decision last month which allowed South Lakes Safari Zoo to remain open to the public while Cumbria Zoo Company's own application was processed.
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