Written By David Gomez
STRATHROY-CARADOC - A proposed hospice on Walkers Drive will move forward after Middlesex County Council unanimously approved a planning amendment, despite a recommendation from County planning staff to deny it.
The September 8 decision concerns approximately 3.5 hectares of a larger agricultural property at 7013 Walkers Drive in Strathroy-Caradoc. Strathroy Hospice plans to build the facility in two phases, beginning with five hospice care suites and eventually expanding to 10.
The land is designated agricultural, requiring an amendment to permit the hospice. The main issue before County Council was whether the proposed location met provincial planning requirements intended to protect prime agricultural areas.
Middlesex County Director of Planning and Development Durk Vanderwerff told council that he was satisfied with two of the provincial criteria applying to the proposal, including that the property is not a specialty crop area and that required separation from nearby agricultural operations had been addressed. However, he raised concerns about whether alternative locations had been adequately considered.
The proponents had reviewed several potential sites, but Vanderwerff said their evaluation included factors beyond land-use planning, such as site availability and fundraising considerations.
“I don’t believe that it meets those tests, and therefore I am recommending denial of the application,” he told council.
Several councillors, however, argued that the rural setting was an important consideration for a hospice. Councillor Colin Grantham spoke about his father’s final years on the family farm and said the experience influenced his view of the proposal.
“I’m quite sure if I’d taken my father and showed him this setting, in the rural area where he lived his whole life, I may have been able to convince him to go there,” Grantham said.
Furthermore, councillors Allan Mayhew, Cathy Burghardt-Jesson and Mike McGuire also spoke in favour of the project. Mayhew argued that a rural environment could be particularly meaningful for people receiving end-of-life care, while Burghardt-Jesson acknowledged the correspondence from residents opposed to the location but said the hospice would benefit families across Middlesex County. McGuire said he had initially struggled with the proposal because of the planning rules involved, but ultimately concluded that he could support the project after considering the views he had heard from residents. “This truly serves our agricultural community in the area that they are most comfortable,” McGuire said.
Councillor Aina DeViet expressed more hesitation, recognizing the need for hospice care while also pointing to the importance of following established planning rules. Councillor Brian Ropp similarly noted that opposition to the location should not be interpreted as opposition to hospice care itself.
Finally, council moved to a recorded vote on Grantham’s motion to approve Official Plan Amendment. All members voted in favour, giving the Strathroy Hospice proposal unanimous support to proceed through the next stages of the local planning process.
