Do you have any thoughts on growth? Share your vision for Bradford Tuesday

If you have any suggestions on how Bradford should be home to an extra 40,000 people and 19,000 jobs over the next 2.5 decades, this is your chance to share them.

The board is scheduled to hold a public meeting in the Zima Room of the Bradford West Gwillimbury Public Library, 425 Holland St. W. at 7 p.m., Tuesday, June 25, to present and solicit feedback from residents on a proposed update to the city’s growth management plan.

Work on that plan and public engagement is being led by consultant WSP Global Inc. to help the city prepare to meet population and job goals of 84,370 and 30,900 by 2051, respectively.

To achieve this, the plan is divided into two parts, which are expected to be carried out on both simultaneously – Part 1, intensification and Part 2, settlement boundary expansion.

Work planning for the intensification is expected to last a year and focus on the Major Transit Station Area (MTSA) near the GO station and the Bridge Street corridor; intensification of existing residential areas within Bradford and Bond Head urban boundary; revaluation and protection of employment land in the existing urban area; and plans to make full use of the 400 Freeway Occupancy Lands.

Some key targets include building 42% of all new housing units within the existing urban boundary and new developments to help achieve 55 people and jobs per hectare.

A report and recommendations on the intensification strategy should come to the council sometime in the second quarter of 2025.

Planning work to expand the settlement’s boundaries is expected to take six months. It will focus on finding areas adjacent to existing settlements best suited to accommodate new growth and planning to provide those areas with municipal water and sewer services.

However, according to a copy of the presentation included on the meeting’s agenda, the WSP notes that the infrastructure needed to serve it “must be financially viable.”

WSP expects the city will need an additional 16,270 housing units of various types to accommodate the anticipated population, and even with increased density goals, city staff previously estimated that Bradford would need to add 449.1 hectares of land us to accomplish the goal.

The WSP notes that the city has already received “numerous” requests to extend the urban boundary, including for the redevelopment of Bradford Highlands Golf Club.

Further consultation with relevant agencies and the public is expected to continue this autumn and throughout 2025, with a report and recommendations on revising the limits anticipated in the first quarter of 2026.

It comes as the latest step in ongoing efforts to update the city’s official plan, which guides how property in Bradford can be used and where water and sewer services will be provided, as well as potential expansion of municipal boundaries, planning transportation and much more. .

The Council is not expected to make a decision at Tuesday’s meeting, but staff plans to present a report based on public feedback at a future date.

Anyone unable to attend the meeting in person may still provide written submissions on the growth management plan by email to (email protected) or by mail to: Town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, c/o Director of Corporate Services/Municipal Clerk, 100 Dissette St., Units 7 and 8, PO Box 100, Bradford, ON, L3Z 2A7.

For more information, visit townofbwg.com/planbwg2051, email (email protected) or call 905-778-2055, ext. 1400.