The fate of the Anderson Barn in Lunenburg will soon be known.
The owner of the building in Lunenburg’s Historic District has applied to have it demolished.
Robin Joost has two consultants reports that say the structure is beyond repair.
Joost wants to clear the site to erect a multi-unit residential building.
The Lunenburg Historical Society had asked for time for an architect to determine what would be required to save the barn.
The Historical Society’s submission will be presented to Town Council at their next meeting on September 27th.
The public are invited to the meeting to express their ideas on the project.
Meanwhile,
Mayor Rachel Bailey is concerned with the lack of financial support from the federal government for the Historic District of Lunenburg.
She says the UNESCO contract is signed on behalf of the town by the federal government.
“Federal government puts forth the designation and promises to look after and help maintain and adminster the site. And that is the part that I think they have failed to live up to their obligation.”
Bailey says the UNESCO designation has been great for the town, but it’s not without issues.
She says Lunenburg is a unique UNESCO site as all the historic properties are owned privately.
“It’s complicated by the fact that we are a living, breathing, active, municipality. That actually went in our favour when we were making the application.”
But the problem is homeowners don’t have the same access to federal money that non-profit organizations do.
Bailey would like to see the federal government help homeowners with the upkeep of their properties.
