Woodstock Residents Concerned About Old Children's Aid Society Building

Thursday, 2 September 2021 06:25

A group of residents living in the Light Street and Buller Street area of Woodstock would like County Council to do something about the old Children's Aid Society building.

WOODSTOCK - A group of Woodstock residents would like the County to do something about the old Children's Aid Society building at the corner of Light Street and Buller Street.

Jeff Plate is part of a group of about 12 residents living in the area, concerned about the current state of the building. He says the building has been vacant for over a decade now and it costs the County about $75,000 a year.

He says the building has sustained quite a bit of damage over the years, and it has become a hot spot for drug addicts and those experiencing homelessness in our community. He says something needs to be done sooner rather than later.

"What we're asking for is something pretty simple; tear it down or do something with it! The County has known about this forever and they just haven't decided to do anything with it. If it has not been occupied for 12 years it would suggest to myself and to my neighbours that it's surplus."

Plate wrote a letter to County Council about this last week and he's prepared to present a delegation if need be.

"I've offered to County that I can go and share the concerns of the residents on this, but since County is already well aware of this issue, it's really just incumbent of our political leaders to make a decision on this one because the status quo can not continue."

Warden Larry Martin says the County would like to find a use for a building, but there is no plan for it at this time.

"We would like to use it. I know at one point in time there was a plan to put something in there that would help draw people into the core area of Woodstock but that was the one that fell through. We're still looking and trying to come up with something to make it a useful facility again."

Martin says the building is still structurally sound, but the County will need to spend some money to make sure it meets the building code.

County Council heard a delegation from Hope House Oxford back in September 2019. Council decided to reject the application in the end, after reading a report from staff which stated that the location would not be ideal for a Hope House facility. You can read more about that online here.