Councillors ask for monitoring, maintenance of Cookstown's Hindle Manor

Members of Innisfil’s heritage committee are worried about the deteriorating condition of the historic Hindle Manor — originally known as 'Ravenscraig' — in the village of Cookstown. 

The town intends to designate the historic home — located at 34 King St. S. and built circa 1868 in the Gothic Revival style by Christopher Cook — as a heritage site.

Currently, the building is sitting vacant, part of a proposed condominium development. 

Draft-plan approval for the development requires the owner to enter into a heritage preservation agreement with the town, which will include an assessment of the home's heritage attributes, and the designation of the building under the Ontario Heritage Act (OHA). 

In a recent meeting, the Innisfil heritage committee asked town council to direct town staff to take "all necessary interim measures to protect and preserve the property," including monitoring and regular inspections “to ensure that the property does not further degrade.”

The committee’s recommendations were adopted by council on June 3, leading Coun. Carolyn Payne to comment further.

“We have a problem with the properties bought by developers,” said Payne. “They’re being left to deteriorate.”

She noted that, especially in rural areas, farmhouses dating back to the 19th century are being abandoned to vandalism. With windows broken and doors smashed, “they are being used as dump yards. It’s disgusting,” said the councillor.

“If you don’t want people there, put up a fence, put up a gate. It’s a disgusting mess,” Payne added. “I would really like developers to know they have an obligation, even if no one is living there.”

She asked for the town's property standards officials to step in.

Deputy Mayor Dan Davidson also asked for an update on the 'Wauchope building', a heritage home at 1326 Innisfil Beach Rd., once owned by former mayor Gord Wauchope, that was moved off its foundation and has been sitting on steel beams ever since, waiting for a proposed townhouse development to proceed.

“It’s beginning to be an eyesore,” said Davidson, noting that it has been “up on piers” for several years.

When contacted, planning staff noted that "the town has numerous powers to enforce protection of heritage buildings, depending on the property's status under the OHA." 

Hindle Manor is not yet protected under the Act, however heritage designation "is required in order to satisfy the current draft plan conditions." 

As for the former Wauchope building, "over the last year, staff have been working with the owner to improve the condition of the heritage dwelling site, including cleaning up of the yard, securing the structure from trespass and stabilizing the roof."

As well, "an engineering report has reconfirmed the building is in a stable condition."

Planning recently received an application for development of the land in question, which will integrate the heritage house and incorporate elements discussed at a meeting held in March.

Staff noted that they have been meeting with the owner and consultants "to ensure the application is complete, following which the community will be notified of the application, application materials wil be made available on the town's Get Involved website and a public meeting will be scheduled."

As for the abandoned farmhouses in rural Innisfil, few are designated as heritage buildings or protected under the OHA. 

Mayor Lynn Dollin suggested that Payne file a complaint with the town’s customer service department to start the process of enforcing property standards.