Save Centreville Beach

Centreville Beach, at the foot of Centreville Road in the Town of Meaford, has been enjoyed by the community for generations, maintained by the Municipality as a public beach. This treasured little location has always offered all of us a beautiful place to appreciate the waters of Georgian Bay. Completely unexpectedly and alarmingly, the future of the public's ability to access this beach is now under threat. The Municipality of Meaford has every opportunity to work towards maintaining Centreville Beach as a public space. We call upon the Municipality to commit to do so.

While current legalities and factual status are still not fully clear, all indications are that the beach is composed of a section of 'Lot 38,' ownership unknown and not registered with the Land Titles Office, together with a municipal road allowance following the path of Centreville Road to the water. After decades during which the beach has been assumed by all to be Municipal property, the beach (Lot 38) is now in legal limbo without an identified owner. This is contrary to much of the recent messaging floating about from the Municipality and on social media etc. suggesting that there is a clearly identified private owner. The most recent press release from the Municipality finally confirmed what has been understood to be the case for some time: "The current understanding of the Municipality is that a claim on the land exists from 2020 by a private individual." It is not clear from the Municipality's press release what the intentions are should this claim be successful, but it is widely understood that the intention is to privatize the beach. There is also another party with claim to the beach, as explained in the following paragraph.

The Municipality of Meaford has at least three potential legal avenues through which to lay its own claim to the Beach, so that it is maintained as a public space. There is also a formal legal opinion (the only legal opinion which we have access to), that concludes, following an extensive review of the available historical documents, that Lot 38 is owned by the heirs of a local family. A representative of that local family attended the Municipal Council meeting on October 21, 2024 and generously advised the Council that they were prepared to transfer the beach property to the Municipality for a nominal amount, so long as their expenses were covered, to permit the beach to continue as a public beach for the enjoyment of all.

To date, the Municipality has not confirmed its interest in or commitment to acquiring this beach property for continued public enjoyment.

It is self-evident to us that the Municipality of Meaford ought to align itself with the community and commit to pursuing the goal of acquiring this valuable beach property (with the full cooperation of the apparent legal owner) for the benefit of the greater community. It would be a valuable public asset obtained at a minimal cost.