Heritage preservation advocate Meredith Fisher addressing council last Monday

A longtime advocate has called on Tantramar Town Council to make heritage preservation a priority in its new five-year strategic plan.

Speaking on behalf of about 35 people who attended last Monday’s council meeting, Meredith Fisher also urged council to create an advisory committee to help draft a new heritage bylaw.

“The vision within our request that we are making to you today is to ensure that the legacy of our heritage is passed on and not lost to future generations,” Fisher told council.

“Our heritage binds us together and defines us, as a community, more perfectly than anything else,” she said, after noting that heritage includes historic buildings, artefacts, culture and natural assets such as wetlands, landscapes and vistas.

“Once lost, heritage is never replaceable and the community loses its sense of place, distinctiveness and aesthetic value.”

Economic benefits

Fisher argued that heritage preservation generates economic benefits including tax revenues, jobs and increased property values.

“The rehabilitation of older buildings produces higher-paying jobs and money tends to stay in the local economy,” she said.

She added that natural heritage such as Sackville’s internationally recognized Waterfowl Park can also attract tourists.

“With the proper marketing, people could be attracted here from all over the world, all year round,” she said.

“Tantramar could emerge after four years as a national treasure, a destination of choice, and wealthier, all based on our recognition of the value of our natural, cultural and built heritage.”

Council reaction

Councillor Michael Tower says he supports a new heritage bylaw

After Fisher ended her five-minute presentation, Councillor Michael Tower thanked her and those who attended to show support.

“I definitely support your cause because it’s part of mine also,” Tower said, noting that his forbears were among the New England Planters who came to the Tantramar area beginning in 1760-61.

He referred to the repeal in 2018 of Sackville’s heritage bylaw leaving property owners free to demolish or alter the look of downtown buildings in previously designated heritage conservation areas without having to apply for a permit.

“We lost that heritage bylaw and I agree it should come back, even more so now that we have gone from Sackville to Tantramar because we know that just across the way, historic Dorchester is there and my roots are there also,” he said.

“I think it’s even more important that we bring a bylaw in to start protecting some places.”

In 2018, Tower strongly supported repealing Sackville’s heritage bylaw and abolishing its heritage board.

He suggested then that the board had imposed unfair, ridiculous and costly conditions on owners seeking to improve their properties.

To read about the repeal of Sackville’s heritage grants policy in 2020 as well as the bitter controversies around the heritage bylaw, click here.

To read the full text of Meredith Fisher’s presentation to council, click here.