PLAYING THROUGH
The Roman Catholic Diocese of London, which purchased the former Hydeaway Golf Club in Lakeshore, has successfully appealed the Town of Lakeshore’s opposition to converting the abandoned 18-hole course into a cemetery.
A former Lakeshore golf course will become a Catholic cemetery following a recent Local Planning Appeal Tribunal decision to overturn town council’s rejection of the plan.
Complaints about potential cemetery noise, traffic and eyesores from residents whose properties neighbour the former Hydeaway Golf Club were backed by “no substantial evidence,” according to a document outlining the tribunal’s Oct. 3 ruling. The Diocese of London filed an appeal after Lakeshore council in August 2018 voted 5-3 against a rezoning for the cemetery proposal at 494/496 Elmstead Rd. in Maidstone.
“We were confident it would go through because the idea of having a cemetery on that end of the city is very peaceful and positive for the community,” said Pat Simone, manager of west region cemeteries for the Diocese of London.
The nearly 100-year-old Heavenly Rest cemetery in Lasalle, the largest of eight diocesan cemeteries in Windsor/essex, is expected to reach full capacity a few years from now, Simone said. She anticipates the new cemetery will open in about a decade and will serve the region — both Catholic and otherwise — for 80 to 100 years.
“Like every other business, we have to do some long-range planning,” Simone said.
Meetings with architects and planners need to happen before the London diocese can return to Lakeshore council for site-plan approval.
“We still have a lot of work to do on our end,” she said.
The golf course closed in 2014 after 51 years in operation.
Lakeshore Mayor Tom Bain said council accepts the LPAT decision as final and will work with the diocese to ensure the cemetery plans alleviate concerns from neighbouring residents.
“The diocese to this point have been very co-operative, and have made already a few changes in their plans,” Bain said.
The diocese has promised to plant double rows of evergreen trees “sooner rather than later” to act as a sound and visual barrier between the cemetery and neighbouring properties, according to Simone.
“We’re going to be a quiet neighbour for sure, and a peaceful, pleasant, respectful one,” Simone said.
A traffic impact study noted in the LPAT report found the cemetery would produce less of a traffic impact than the prior golf course “and poses no adverse impacts on nearby residents.”
An acoustical engineering study for the cemetery’s proposal found “no potential adverse impact upon nearby residents arising from the planned cemetery use.” It stated the cemetery would produce “no more noise than the prior golf course,” but the diocese stands by its pledge to plant trees as sound buffers.
While some residents at the August 2018 council meeting expressed concern about the cemetery having a potentially negative impact on surrounding property values, the tribunal noted declining property values aren’t considered planning grounds for denying proposed developments.
“The site plan will be coming back to council,” Bain said. “Certainly residents are able to come to that meeting, but there won’t be any further appeal.