Province 'asks' New Tecumseth to halt work on Official Plan update
Posted June 12, 2025
In a letter dated June 10 from the The Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator to New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross, it's confirmed the government doesn't approve of the Town's new Official Plan and growth strategy and wants it to stop further action pending policy updates from Queen's Park.
"The updated guidelines will assist your municipality in determining land required for various purposes, including residential, commercial, and recreational areas, ensuring adequate space for anticipated growth," according to the letter signed by Dan Mathieson, Chair, Office of the Provincial Land and Development Facilitator.
"Given both provincial and private investments in the region and the Town of New Tecumseth and the significant changes in the Province’s land use planning framework that have occurred since 2022 when the County of Simcoe adopted an amendment to its Official Plan (OPA No. 7), I would ask New Tecumseth defer further work on it’s official plan amendment until this guideline is finalized in the coming months to ensure your municipality will have the tools available to anticipate future growth demands."
It's believed the impetus for the "ask" is because New Tecumseth's growth strategy does not include the Mattamy/Cappuccitti (now called Harvest) 15,000 residential unit development between Alliston and Beeton within the expanded settlement areas. That group of developers have pitched the idea of upfronting more than $300 million towards the cost of infrastructure upgrades to water, and sewage treatment.
The letter outlines the opportunity for "Simcoe County and the Town of New Tecumseth, the Town of Collingwood and other relevant parties, their level of interest and support for collaborating with the province on innovative approaches to:
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working in partnership with industry to identify opportunities to finance community amenities and infrastructure,
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to specifically identify opportunities for leveraging growth to secure investments in critical water and wastewater infrastructure, and
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getting shovels in the ground to build housing that will complement Honda’s planned investment.
"As you know, with the repeal of A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe, 2019 (the Growth Plan) municipalities are now mandated to base their population and employment projections on the Ministry of Finance's projections, as outlined in the Provincial Planning Statement, 2024.
I am advised that the provincial government is currently working to update the provincial population methodology guidelines to reflect provincial priorities and evolving methodologies. An update to the existing guidelines is needed to reflect provincial priorities and support the implementation of the new Provincial Policy Statement. Further, there may be areas that require modifications/updates as new information has become available, and assumptions and approaches have evolved with regards to projection methodologies."
