Work for Town of Shelburne master plan well underway

Written By Paula Brown

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Town of Shelburne's parks and recreation master plan is officially underway. 

Shelburne Town council, during their meeting on Monday (Sept. 13), received and overview report from town planner Steve Wever, which provided details on how the plan will be developed. 

The parks and recreation master plan is a framework that is meant to help identify facilities and services that are required in the community, where they should be provided, the timing of their development and how they can be delivered. The parks and recreation master plan spans a 10
year period. 

“It's not just about adding new, it's obviously very much about renewal of existing [facilities],” noted Wever. “You have a number of older and aging parks and facilities that need to be considered.” 

According to the report to council existing parks and recreation facilities in the review include the CDRC and the outdoor pool, parks, open spaces, community trails, playgrounds, sports fields, basketball courts and multi-use courts, skatepark, park building such as pavilions and washrooms, and event spaces. 

As part of the first phase of the parks and recreation master plan, the Town will be collecting information from the community through online surveys and workshops. 

“Council is excited to announce that our Parks and Recreation Master Plan will soon be launching and will wrap up in Spring 2022. The last 18 months, as we all know, have not been easy. COVID 19 has really shown us that year-round access to outdoor opportunities in parks, and especially those that are free, have never been more important,” said Wade Mills. “We know how important parks and recreation is to our community as a whole and that's why we are committed to enhancing and upgrading our parks and recreation opportunities.”

The first facility the Town will be receiving feedback on is Fiddle Park, which will have its own plan developed separate to the master plan to identify future facilities and amenities the community wants. 

“[Fiddle Park] is the largest park in the town and of course it's evolved with an event-based focus and specifically accommodation of camping needs,” said Wever. “But, through the CIP and going back through previous planning initiatives and processes, it's been identified by many community members that there's a desire to have a broader range of community-oriented park use.” 

The Town launched an online survey on Sept. 13 for Fiddle Park which can be found at www.haveyoursayshelburne.ca. 

After the first phase is completed, a draft plan will be development, with the third phase being the final master plan. 

The development of the parks and recreation master plan is beginning this fall and is expected to wrap up in Spring 2022.