Proposed Holiday Beach disc golf course put on hold

(Robert Lothian/CTV News Windsor)

The Essex Region Conservation Authority (ERCA) has suspended plans for a nine-hole disc golf course at Holiday Beach Conservation Area for now.

ERCA shared the news at the Libro Centre on Tuesday night, where officials held a community open house discussing the park plans.

With more than 100 people in attendance, residents voiced concerns over how the course would impact migratory birds and the conservation area’s atmosphere.

“I’m not a birder, but I love birds. I come out for the quiet,“ Windsor’s Lynn Richardson told CTV News.

Richardson is a seasonal camper at Holiday Beach who has noticed some wildlife, such as deer returning this year. However, she fears the course could bring a different and rowdier crowd that would disrupt Holiday Beach.

“ERCA doesn’t have enough staff to regulate and watch everything,” Richardson said. “My reason to be out there is for the quiet and nature and trying to get back what you can.”

In the crowd of opposition was Hugh Kent, the president of the Holiday Beach Migration Observatory (HBMO), who said his team “strongly” object’s the proposal.

Intent on the study and monitoring of migratory birds, Kent said the proposal could disrupt the habitat.

“The area that their proposing for the disc golf is just as important as the other areas within the Holiday Beach Conservation Area,” Kent told the crowd.

According to ERCA, the proposed area is currently a mowed lawn often used for overflow parking.

Kent noted the conservation area serves as a station for migrating birds in the spring and fall seasons, as well as a breeding area during the summer.

“This is a bit of a jewel in the crown, and we just wouldn’t want to see it be desecrated by a recreational activity like disc golf,” Kent added.

The more than two-hour-long meeting was tense at moments, with ERCA CAO Tim Byrne and a resident getting into a shouting match due to the former’s belief he wasn’t being respected.

After the meeting, Byrne told CTV News the response was not surprising, but he felt supporters of the project did not show up.

“Disc golf, it’s about looking at creative revenue streams and creating some opportunities for revenue to come into that park,” Byrne said.

According to the CAO, recent legislation bars ERCA from drawing on reserves at other facilities in the event there’s a budget deficit. As a result, Byrne said they need added revenue to create a specific reserve for the Holiday Beach Conservation Area.

“What we really need, most commonly and most simply, is every so often for that gate to go up and down and for another 12 bucks to go in that kitty at that gate, and that has to happen every day,” Byrne said.

ERCA has hired a third-party consultant to conduct an ecological impact assessment to determine the level of risk. Byrne said once they receive the all clear, they will continue talks with the HBMO in an effort to find a path forward for the course.