Land donation for green space
Charlottetown council accepts more than 15 acres by Andrew’s Pond to be used as green space
A resident of Charlottetown’s east end has donated more than 15 acres of land to the city.
City council passed a unanimous resolution at its recent monthly meeting to accept a portion of Anne Barbour’s property, located near Andrew’s Pond and Wright’s Creek.
The 15.12 acres of land in the neighbourhood of East Royalty (Barbour’s property is 29.6 acres) will be used as green space.
The city will issue Barbour a tax receipt for $360,000 based on the appraised value.
Barbour’s property runs from Norwood Road to Wright’s Creek and borders on MacFadyen Park and MacDonald Construction to the east. To the south, it borders Andrew’s Pond and city-owned property along the pond.
The proposed portion of property includes the area east of Andrew’s Pond, where the city hopes to build a trail that will complete the current trail system that circles the pond.
The city also hopes to build a dam for Barbour’s Pond, a portion of the pond not owned by the city, as well as a wetland and meadow area to the west of Wright’s Creek and Andrew’s Pond and a swale that carries storm water from Norwood Road to Wright’s Creek.
A condition of the donation is that this portion of property would be designated a natural area by the city and be called the W.G. Barbour Natural Area.
The Guardian was unable to reach Barbour.
Her donation comes on the heels of a donation made by John and Christine Andrew a year ago that saw 6.6 acres of land donated to the city at an appraised value of $416,000.
At the time, John Andrew said it had always been his dream to restore the pond to its original state and create a place where residents could enjoy nature and wildlife could thrive.
The entire process has taken nearly a decade.
The two donations combined will see a trail system that begins at the Wright’s Creek Bridge, located at the end of Acadian Drive, extended all the way north to Barbour’s property.