Arrested development
Building permits plummet, plans stalled by slow home sales
Home construction has largely ground to a halt in Trent Hills, according to the latest report from the Trent Hills’ building department.
In the first nine months of the year, 160 building permits were issued with a value of $17.3 million. Compared to the same period in 2024, the number of permits was down 53 per cent from 338 and the value was down a whopping 78 per cent from $81 million.
In the quarter from July 1 until September 30, there were five agricultural permits for $607,000 in work; 44 residential permits worth $5.3 million; and 16 permits worth just $16,300 in the industrial and commercial sector. In total, 58 permits were granted for $5.9 million in work.
The slowdown is also evident in the slower pace of developers seeking approvals or moving to start work on subdivisions that have been approved. On Tuesday, Huron Creek Development’s Hastings Hilltop project requested and received, somewhat relucantly, an extension for another two years until 2027 of the time it has to meet the conditions for its draft subdivision approval.
A frustrated Councillor Gene Brahaney noted that this project, under a different owner, was originally approved in 2011.
Planner Cameron Law said Hastings Hilltop is currently trying to pre-sell some lots which will help it secure the financing needed to proceed. The project will require the extension of sewer and water services westward on Front Street West and efforts to obtain a provincial grant for this work have failed, placing the full cost on the developer.
“If that fails, we might see the development fail, but it sounds like they were somewhat successful over the summer,” Law said. “I imagine by the end of this extension there should be some activity, unless things have gone poorly and the market is just not ready for these units at this time. Hopefully, we’ll see clearing of the final conditions for the subdivision in the next year or two if everything goes well.”
The website says bungalows start at $640,000.
Law said the project has met 95 per cent of the planning requirements but has a few things left to do.
Planning Director Jim Peters said Northumberland County has requested an updated traffic report because the planned subdivision has an entrance on County Road 2 and it wants to ensure what is planned will meet the demand.
“The developer is just waiting to get some sense of the market before they start to put some services in the ground,” Peters said.
“I am getting frustrated by these developers who get so far along with a proposal and then they come back with a little want,” Brahaney said. “They want to downsize the lots to create more lots. I’ve reached the point where I’m going to say no to this one.”
Brahaney did not actually vote against the extension but he was the only councillor who did not vote in favour.
You may recall that last January after granting 10 extensions over 18 years for a proposed project west of Blommer Chocolate, the council did refuse an 11th extension and told the developer Valley Green Homes Inc. to start over.
In Campbellford, an aging sign surrounded by weeds and litter and a single model home are the only signs of progress on the Camelot Village site on Bridge Street West. The website includes a siteplan showing a street with lots, but that map also flags Phase 2 as coming in 2025.
The sign says Camelot Village is a project of Wiltshire Homes, an Ajax builder. But it’s not listed as one of their projects on the Wiltshire website. In fact, all nine projects listed on the website say they were done in 2023.
Another sign of the development woes is the fact that an approved subdivision plan for 69 lots on Nappan Island has been listed for $6.95 million for much of the past year. It includes 311 acres of prime waterfront land with 3,800 feet of shoreline on Seymour Lake.
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Good for you Gene. The new administrator should be checking up on the planning dept. Nappan Island is a good example what can go on. The developer files for bankruptcy. Once you cross the bridge it is a forced road. Now up for sale as hunting property. Residents and property owners stuck with a one. Seven million debt.
... aaaand even more housing goes unused/unavailable to families to live in.
Unfettered speculation on housing strikes again...