City staff report to look into rezoning part of Purcell’s Cove Backlands

A local preservation group is throwing their support behind a motion passed by HRM City Council last week to preserve an area of the Purcell’s Cove Backlands. 

The motion, brought forward by Councillor Shawn Cleary concerns 136 acres of land that has gone up for sale next to Williams Lake. 

Cleary has requested a staff report that will assess the potential of rezoning the land so that it can’t be developed. 

The impact of the water quality on Williams Lake, the degrading recreational value of the area, along with the upsetting of biodiversity in the area, were all included as reasons that developing the land would not be in the interest of the public. 

Kathleen Hall is the Co-Chair of the Backlands Coalition, and she tells The Sheldon MacLeod Show, she says ultimately they’d like to see all of the land made into a park, or a conservation easement, as long as it means the land isn’t developed.

“People’s priorities are changing, and there’s lots of other room for development in HRM. We don’t need to ruin a lake,” she says.  

The land not only sits adjacent to Williams Lake, it’s also next to the Shaw Wilderness Park, an area of 379 acres that was protected last year after the announcement of Federal funding. 

Hall says she’s optimistic the land will be rezoned and thinks after COVID-19, people have a stronger willingness to make sure we take care of our environment.

“It’s an absolutely wonderful resource for hikers and swimmers and we don’t want to degrade the quality of Williams Lake.”