CENTRE WELLINGTON – To support a request from the Wellington Catholic District School Board (WCDSB) and the future expansion of St. Joseph Catholic School, Centre Wellington staff are recommending council declare Strathallan Park as surplus, for the purpose of conveyance to the WCDSB for a future school expansion.
A news release states the selling of the park would be for institutional purposes.
It goes on to say “Prior to any secondary school’s development, the park will continue to operate and be maintained by the township. As a school site, the greenspace will be maintained and allow access to the public outside of school hours (evenings, weekends and during the summer). ”
The sale of the land would require approval by the Ministry of Education.
By declaring this property surplus, the following can proceed:
- The township can sell the property to WCDSB.
- Strengthen WCDSB’s application for expansion. For the WCDSB to support their application for the school addition with the Ministry of Education, they need to own the property where the school and school grounds would expand.
- WCDSB can proceed with rezoning the property to meet their institutional purposes while maintaining the existing Open Space Recreation zoning.
Currently, students in Centre Wellington are bussed outside of the community to attend a Wellington Catholic District School Board high school.
The township states as a community preparing for growth, the addition of schools is a necessity, that in this case, they support.
“The surplus declaration is only the first step in the process.”
