Currently a "jewel in the rough," new plans for the picturesque harbour promise real change.
Picton Harbour is currently visually cut off and difficult to access for the public.
Over the years various plans have been made (including provisions in the Official Plan) to rejuvenate the harbour. However, the plans had but with little impact, in large part because the County had no money for re-development.
In 2016, the County’s Community & Economic Development Department brought together a committee to develop a vision for the harbour (full disclosure: I was the chair of the committee).
The committee’s premise was that while the Municipality did not have significant resources to devote to the harbour revitalization, there would be significant commercial interest in development, and that if there was a coherent vision for the future, it used as a guide for commercial development.
At the culmination of an intensive data collection and consultation process, Council approved the new vision for the harbour which:
- "contemplates a bustling hub of pedestrian and boater activity where a growing number of residents and visitors congregate to partake in live entertainment, eateries and outdoor markets
- it sees Picton Harbour as an extension of Picton’s commercial core where new and expanding businesses and public/private amenities cater to the needs of a growing number of harbour residents, families, visitors, recreational boaters and fishermen
- envisions a gathering place where local culture and history are celebrated through art, architecture and interpretive elements that help define a uniquely Prince Edward County sense of place;
- seeks to strengthen the sense of community through improved accessibility and linkages with trails and public space, neighbourhoods, schools and community groups – with each helping to animate the jewel that is Picton Harbour.”
With the recent acquisition of 14 acres along the south shore of the harbour by a local developer, there are reasons to be optimistic that there will be progress toward this vision.
Treat Hull spent three decades as a management consultant and marketing executive before moving to the County and taking up real estate. He is broker/owner of Treat Hull & Associates Ltd., a Prince Edward County brokerage which takes no listings and represents only buyers.
