Plans progress for Middleton nursing home

By Heather Killen

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Slowly but surely, plans inch forward for Middleton’s new 50-bed nursing home.

Clayton MacMurtry, town CAO, said he is hopeful that the construction phase can soon resume for the project and that current delays mean the new target date for opening the 50-bed facility is likely now to take place in December, rather than September 2009.

“The Department of Environment is finalizing the written approval for procedures that will protect the surrounding area,” said MacMurtry. “This is a normal course of action in approving the construction phase.”

He added that once the province approves the proposal construction will resume on the project, possibly as early as December. MacMurtry added that he doesn’t anticipate that the weather will pose a further delay.

“The equipment they use is heavier than most, so the weather isn’t a concern,” he said.

The project was halted in July, after an inspector noticed a section of land on the proposed site of the nursing home that appeared to be part of a wetland.

While this area wasn’t designated on Department of Natural Resources maps, MacMurtry said that between five to six acres of the 10-acre parcel has now been classified as wetlands.

These swampy areas are legally protected from destruction and development, but they can be transferred to a new site if a corresponding wetland is created elsewhere.

The Gem Health Care Group hired its own consultant to investigate the situation, and prepare the proposal for creating a new wetland in another spot.