The controversial plan to develop a golf course and bedroom community on Nova Scotia’s east coast has been scrapped, after the potential buyer said it did not have the backing of the provincial government.
The company, US-based Lighthouse Links, had planned to develop an area of Crown land known as Owls Head. The proposal included up to three golf courses, a marina, and a housing development.
But the plan sparked outrage from people who wanted to protect the Little Harbor area as a provincial park, and it became a campaign issue in last summer’s provincial elections.
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Proposed Sale of Owls Head to US Developer Becomes a Major Issue for NS Elections
For years, the area was considered a provincial park reserve, and the then liberal government was widely criticized for considering its sale.
A group of concerned citizens had requested a judicial review in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court, arguing that the conditional sale of Owls Head was made without public consultation and that it did not meet the standards set by the province to protect public lands, as well as it was also against the public interest. That request was rejected in July.
On Tuesday, the developer said it was withdrawing its December 2019 offer letter because it concluded that it did not have the “necessary support to make this project a reality” from the provincial government.
“This community would have been a pleasant place to live, anchored by world-class oceanfront golf courses, access to magnificent sandy beaches, nature reserves, a marina, a base for kayaking in the Bay of Islands, and a gateway to the 100 Wild Islands, ”the company wrote in a press release.
“Our greatest regret is that Eastern Shore residents will be deprived of what could have been hundreds of new jobs during this time of need.”
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