Bond Head could include a heritage conservation district.
At an open house Wednesday, a heritage consulting firm hired by the Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury explained how it plans to assess Bond Head’s heritage buildings in a Phase 1 study, which will help determine whether the hamlet will get the designation.
Attendees were invited to draw a map of what they saw as the heritage district of Bond Head, highlighting buildings of significance, and to fill out a survey on their perceptions of the area’s character and the importance of heritage.
Bond Head is “one of the oldest hamlets in Simcoe County,” said Lindsay Benjamin of Archaeological Research Associates, who ran the open house.
Whether the hamlet merits the protection of a heritage conservation district, she added, will be determined.
She said education is a big part of the overall study.
“There’s a lot of myths. There’s a lot of worries,” which will be addressed, she said.
Not all of the 240 properties within the Bond Head settlement area would be included in an heritage conservation district, but there are already 37 buildings on the heritage registry and one — the Brazel-Chambers House on Line 7 — that has been designated as a heritage building, she said.
The Bradford heritage committee has proposed a heritage conservation district for the old village of Bond Head to preserve its almost intact 19th-century streetscapes.
The village, founded in the 1820s at the crossroads of county roads 27 and 88, has 44 buildings that are more than 100 years old — and several more than than 150 years old.
The Ontario Heritage Act sets out the rules for designating architectural and natural features as “heritage” and ensuring their preservation.
When an entire neighbourhood is deemed of heritage significance, united by architecture, history or cultural importance, part of the act allows the establishment of a heritage conservation district.
Bradford set aside $40,000 in previous budgets to support a Bond Head study on this, but only retained the consulting firm this year.
Benjamin was involved in the 2009 evaluation of 64 heritage conservation districts in Ontario. She said that study found “overwhelming” satisfaction with the designation from residents within the boundaries of the districts, who felt a “strong sense of place and identity.”
The study also found higher real estate values, and the potential for economic spinoffs.
Whether Bond Head qualifies will be determined in Phase 1, with a report and a recommendation coming back to Bradford council in June. Phase 2 will deal with the implementation of the recommendation.
Town planner Brandon Slopack said the study would continue despite the upcoming municipal election this fall, unless there is a recommendation from the consulting firm that an district is not warranted.
He was also asked to hand-deliver or email a copy of the survey and heritage conservation district notice to all Bond Head residents in areas being considered for designation.
Mikki Nanowski, a member of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Local History Association, said she appreciated the open house.
“The questions on the survey were especially thoughtful because we were asked what we wanted to remain the same, as well as what we wanted to see changed. There was a sense of history and yes, a sense of progress,” Nanowski said. “And we were asked to relate some of our stories. Stories transport you into the heart of a village.”
For more information, visit townofbwg.com/bondheadhcd.
