FERGUS – Centre Wellington Council has agreed to declare Strathallan Park in Fergus as surplus, to support the future expansion of St. Joseph Catholic School.
A Monday night’s council meeting, staff presented a report recommending Strathallan Park be declared as surplus for the purpose of selling the property to the Wellington Catholic District School Board strictly for institutional purposes.
By declaring the property as surplus, staff say 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.
While councillors approved the recommendation unanimously, Councillor Bronwynne Wilton voiced a few concerns.
Wilton also noted hearing from some residents with regards to their property value with the loss of the green space, and also the impact on traffic.
As a school site, the township says the greenspace will be maintained and allow access to the public outside of school hours (evenings, weekends and during the summer).
Meanwhile, Councillor Lisa MacDonald says this first step is welcomed by many parents, noting students in Centre Wellington are bussed outside of the community to attend a Catholic high school.
Prior to any secondary school’s development, the park will continue to operate and be maintained by the Township.
The sale of land would be conditional on the approval of the Ministry of Education, and so the surplus declaration is only the first step in the process.
