Development trends going down

East Hants’ motto for growth might have to be revised due to a municipal study that revealed development is continuing its downward trend since 2008.
John Woodford, East Hants director of planning and development, delivered a presentation on last year’s development activity to councillors at an executive committee meeting on Jan. 17. This study – presented at the beginning of each year – charts the residential, commercial/industrial, institutional, and agricultural development in East Hants during the past five years.
This year’s report showed that 2011 had the highest value of permits in the last five years at roughly $45.5 million, up from $15 million in 2010. However, Woodford noted that this increase was largely a result of the construction of the East Hants Sportsplex.
“In a small municipality like this, one or two projects can really tilt the numbers around,” said Woodford.
Several councillors observed that this value increase wasn’t the best news for East Hants.
“If you take that $15 million out of the mix, we’re not looking so good,” said Rawdon Councillor Eleanor Roulston.
A closer look at the numbers showed that residential permits have declined at a 6 per cent decrease, falling from 180 in 2010 to 169 in 2011.
This decrease alarmed Roulston and other councillors, who took note of the overall declining trend of residential and commercial development permits since 2008. The residential development has fallen 43 per cent since then, and the commercial development has experienced roughly a 60 per cent drop.
“That’s certainly waving a flag at me that our struggle to increase the commercial development doesn’t seem to be working,” said Roulston. “I think East Hants once upon a time said it was the fastest growing municipality east of Montreal.”
“I think that growth has slowed significantly and I think we’ll continue to see it slow down in the near future.”
Woodford said that this trend is reflected in counties all across the province, with many of them experiencing similar peaks in 2008. He expected that many counties – with the possible exception of HRM – are going through similar economic cycles.
Milford Councillor Willy Versteeg mentioned that council should take this report as a warning for their spending on future endeavours.
“There’s a fair bit of caution need there in how we deploy our resources going forward,” said Versteeg.
The study also showed trends in specific types of residential development. For instance, single-unit housing permits have declined each year since 2008, while two-unit housing permits have increased. Multiple-unit housing/townhouse permits also increased from four in 2010 to 16 in 2011.
“I don’t think you quite see the trend in these five years, but we’re going to see it in the next five,” said Woodford. “You’re going to see a lot more of the multi-unit and townhouses.”
Woodford explained this increase could be a result of residents looking for affordable housing and an older demographic that doesn’t want single-uint housing. Despite the drop in that category, he expects resurgence in growth.
“I think those numbers will come back, but maybe not to the extent that they were before,” said Woodford.
timvanderkooi@enfieldweeklypress.com