Still hopeful
Group thinks Ottawa will gift Experimental Farm.
The chair of Friends of the Farm says that organization does not believe that Ottawa has completely nixed a proposal that would have seen the Experimental Farm gifted to Charlottetown in honour of the 150th anniversary of Charlottetown.
Lane MacLaren told the annual meeting of Friends of the Farm in Charlottetown Tuesday night that their understanding of the situation is that the proposal is stalled, rather than rejected.
Friends of the Farm was one of three parties behind the joint proposal that would have seen the 88-acre parcel of land in the heart of the city remain as green space for people to enjoy.
The Mi’kmaq Confederacy of P.E.I. and the City of Charlottetown were the other parties involved.
MacLaren said yes, there are some hurdles to overcome but they are still working towards making this proposal a reality.
“It won’t happen in time now for 2014 but perhaps it could become a reality for 2017.”
Friends of the Farm, The Mi’kmaq Confederacy of P.E.I. and the City of Charlottetown had developed a plan for the property that they believed was satisfactory to all parties, but the federal government announced last week they were not interested in selling it.
“There has been much interest in the land known as the Experimental Farm for many years,” Shea said in a statement emailed to The Guardian last week.
“After much investigation regarding the divestiture of this property it was determined that the federal Department of Agriculture has no plans to declare the land surplus at this time.”
But Friends of the Farm remains hopeful that will change and the proposal presented to Ottawa will go through, insuring the Experimental Farm remains a green space for all to enjoy.