Owls Head Developer Backs Out
LITTLE HARBOUR–The company that’s been trying for years to build a golf course and resort at Owls Head has backed out of its plan.
Lighthouse Links said in a November 24 statement it’s “reluctantly” withdrawing from its letter of offer with the province.
“We have concluded that we do not have the support of the government of Nova Scotia necessary to make this project a reality,” the company said.
Lighthouse Links planned to build a golf course and resort on a swath of land commonly known as Owls Head Provincial Park, in Little Harbour.
The 285 hectares of land is not officially a provincial park but is home to what the government calls a “globally rare” ecosystem. Although it’s not officially a park, for years Owls Head was on a list of properties the government planned to one day protect.
Then, in 2019, the province quietly removed Owls Head from that list and signed a letter of offer with the owners of Lighthouse Links.
News of the delisting broke late in the year and many were upset at what they perceived as a back-room deal to hand over sensitive land to a developer.
Environmental advocacy groups staged protests and, later, the Eastern Shore Forest Watch Association sued the provincial government to stop the sale of the land.
That lawsuit failed, but the issue has continued to simmer.
Now, environmental advocates are calling Lighthouse Links’ decision to back away from its plans a victory.
“This is a landmark victory for the people of Nova Scotia,” said Lindsay Lee, of the Save Owls Head Provincial Park lobby group. “When people recognize that something is deeply wrong, and work together with purpose and vision, they can accomplish amazing things.”
In a media statement, Save Owls Head said it hopes to see the province put the land at Owls Head back into the Parks and Protected Areas registry now that it’s “no longer encumbered” by its commitments to Lighthouse Links.
For its part, Lighthouse Links argued its proposal would have created significant economic benefits in Little Harbour.
In its statement, the company argued it submitted a project proposal to the government “that would attract private investment, add jobs, and provide economic growth to the community of Little Harbour and the Eastern Shore.”
The company envisioned creating a “bedroom community” in Little Harbour for people working in Halifax.
“Our greatest regret is that the residents of the Eastern Shore will be deprived of what could have been hundreds of new jobs during this time of need,” the company said.
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