Council for the Municipality of South Huron has re-affirmed its support for the development of a casino in Grand Bend.
In 2019, council had initially declared support for a gaming facility within the former Stephen Township. It later endorsed the location for a proposed site situated by the Dark Horse Winery and Huron Country Playhouse. However, development never advanced.
CAO Rebekah Msuya-Collison said the matter had returned to council because of interest in a new site.
"It is a developer that has approached the Municipality and this is one of the first steps in that process, just to gauge whether or not there is interest in the community," she said. "Part of that, prior to even making the application, there is community consultation required as well as council approval, so this is just the beginning steps."
The developer is said to be looking to make a small-footprint casino, scaled for 6,000 to 12,000 square feet in the former Boat Store located at 70589 Bluewater Highway.
Members of council asked if the size was realistic and Msuya-Collison said this was what the developers wanted.
"In preliminary discussions with the developer, they are aware of the building envelope and it is there proposal too," she said. "Staff have talked about other locations, and this is the location that they felt that they could work with."
Msuya-Collison said she had also talked to the CAO of neighbouring Lambton Shores about the proposal, and said "they weren't opposed" to it.
Mayor George Finch reminded council that this was just the first step, nothing has been confirmed and there's been no plans presented.
The resolution from council is part of the lengthy process for approval by the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, which will also include public input, and Ministry approval of a formal business case.
