Category: News 2021

Cobourg Beach Now Fully Open

John Draper

After two months of being closed on weekends and holidays, Cobourg Council decided on Monday to re-open Victoria Beach seven days a week.  First, James Quelch and Rachael Currie presented a petition from 125 residents asking for the Beach to be fully open and then the DBIA provided a report on what Downtown merchants thought.  But it was not a simple “open or not” discussion – Councillors wondered how staff and enforcement would cope with large crowds or even an emergency shutdown mandated by the Heath Unit or the Province.  Nicole Beatty spearheaded the push to open the beach and she was willing to be flexible to accommodate concerns.  Aaron Burchat wanted to fully re-open with no fence but his… Read complete articleCobourg Beach Now Fully Open

Twenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration of Ecology Garden

John Draper

Cobourg’s Ecology Garden was started 25 years ago by Minnie Pennell and it has since become a significant place in Cobourg for residents and visitors.  On Saturday, a ceremony was held to celebrate this anniversary and it was also a wonderful way to also celebrate the beginning of the end of the pandemic.  Given the current restrictions, attendance was monitored and the count was 95 inside the area at the west end of the Garden which was “roped off” with ribbons.  The original opening was by Mayor Joan Chalovich and she was there again on Saturday.  The garden has certainly grown over the years – it started as a 20 foot by 100 foot patch on Legion Village property, just… Read complete articleTwenty-fifth Anniversary Celebration of Ecology Garden

County Annual Report – 2020

John Draper

Northumberland County has just released their annual report (for 2020) and they show expenditures of $107M and revenues of $119M of which taxes are $58.8M.  For all this money, few residents would be able to list what it’s spent on so a report is good.  Cobourg Councillors are directly elected by taxpayers which means that there is a strong democratic connection.  But County Councillors consist of the Mayors of each of the constituent municipalities – in the case of Cobourg, that’s Mayor John Henderson – so it’s an indirect representation.  There are no separate County elections.  Most will probably know the County looks after garbage and some major roads and recently there’s been a focus on affordable housing – but… Read complete articleCounty Annual Report – 2020

Swimming in West Harbour to be Banned

John Draper

With Victoria Beach closed on Weekends and Holidays and limited to 1200 capacity on weekdays, visitors will be looking for other local beaches.  The West Beach would be a good bet but it’s not groomed and hard for visitors to find.  Another obvious swimming spot is the beach in the Harbour along the West headland.  Locals avoid it because they know that it’s often unsafe because of a high e-coli count caused by water that doesn’t move much and pollution from gulls and ducks.  The main Harbour area on the east side (see picture below) is already a “no-swimming” area because of the danger from boats but Council moved on Monday to also ban swimming in the rest of the… Read complete articleSwimming in West Harbour to be Banned

Zoning of Rehabilitation Centres

John Draper

In July 2020, Council was asked to approve the use of the (mostly vacant) Medical building at 316 King Street East (opposite the High school) as a rehabilitation centre for patients with drug or alcohol problems.  There was a lot of concern expressed by councillors and the public due to proximity to the school so the issue was deferred pending a study of zoning of such facilities (see link below).  A contract was awarded to Meridian Planning Consultants to report on this subject and their report was presented to Council at Monday’s Committee of the Whole meeting.  Their basic conclusion was that such a use should be possible but subject to case by case decisions which would include collecting public… Read complete articleZoning of Rehabilitation Centres

Some Entertainment Venues Now Open

John Draper

With the Province re-opening, we can hope that more local entertainment venues will open since with Step 3, 50% capacity is allowed.  That means cinemas, theatres, museums, Art Galleries etc. can open and operate.  But in Cobourg, not all venues have announced any change.  The Concert Hall at Victoria Hall is still closed; the Firehall theatre is closed; the Cobourg Community Centre is partially closed; there are no events at the United Church; the Learning connection is not holding live events; the Cobourg Lions Centre and Columbus Centre are not holding events – at least not yet.  BUT, some venues are now open and providing entertainment.  There is a page on the Cobourg Calendar site that tries to list all… Read complete articleSome Entertainment Venues Now Open

Cobourg Planning Department Busy

John Draper

There are three new residential developments coming to Cobourg, one new commercial development and more details are being provided on a previously planned commercial development.  One notification was at the Council meeting on June 28 and four will be at the Committee of the Whole meeting on July 19.  The three residential developments require public meetings and must be approved (or not) in 120 days or the applicant could refer the matter to the Ontario Land Tribunal (previously the OMB).  The two commercial developments have 30 days and no public meetings – so we can expect a fairly quick response. One of the applications includes a large, five storey apartment building with 86 units and these could be condos or… Read complete articleCobourg Planning Department Busy

Managing Crowds at Cobourg’s Beaches

John Draper

Cobourg residents and Councillors have expressed concern about managing the crowds attracted to Cobourg’s beaches – this has been a special concern with the onset of the pandemic but even in normal times, beach crowds can be a problem.  To address this, the Town created a survey and asked the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee (PRAC) to generate recommendations on “how the municipality can manage the popularity of Victoria Park Beach.” Survey results were published in March (see link below to Cobourg News Blog report) – and with the help of Community Services Staff, the PRAC have now published their recommendations and will ask the next Committee of the Whole to accept them.  It’s quite comprehensive but being recommendations and not… Read complete articleManaging Crowds at Cobourg’s Beaches