Demolition request for heritage property on Wilton Grove Road approved by London City Council
by Qinglang Wu, Jan. 22, 2025
Photo taken by Qinglang Wu
London City Council approved the demolition of a heritage-listed property at 1361 Wilton Grove Road on Tuesday.
The motion had previously been approved by the Planning and Environment Committee (PEC) meeting on Jan. 7 with a 5-0 vote. The City Council meeting was the final confirmation of the recommendation.
1361 Wilton Grove Road spans approximately 110 acres and is located on the south side of the city near Highway 401. There are currently nine buildings on the property, including two residential dwellings and several farm-related accessory buildings and sheds.
London has about “3,000 houses and buildings that are listed as potential heritage properties,” said Councilor Steve Lehman, chair of PEC. 1361 Wilton Grove Road was in the list, but it wasn’t designated as heritage.
To be designated as heritage requires meeting at least two of the nine criteria spelled out in provincial regulations. The report from the second meeting of the PEC earlier this month showed that only Building 1 on the property meets the minimum criteria for designation.
“When people put a demolition request, our heritage folks will take a look at it,” Lehman said, “we need to make sure we’re not knocking something down because you can’t replace it that has historical value.”
The Laidlaw family who has owned and operated on the property for over 180 years had an important impact on local and agricultural history. George Wallace Laidlaw was elected Warden of Middlesex County in 1973. He was inducted into the Canadian Seed Grower’s Hall of Fame in 1992 for his lifelong commitment to the production of pedigreed seed.
Considering the contribution of the Laidlaw family and the historical features of Building 1, the Advisory Committee suggested to retain this building and promote its successful incorporation into a future redevelopment.
Lehman said that if the property only meets two of nine criteria, the committee is not too inclined to get in the way of the demolition progress. “Do we want to get in the way of a company coming here and hiring people, providing jobs, just because the building is old?” he asked. “Politics is balancing the need to preserve that versus the other needs of housing or providing jobs.”
This recommendation supports London’s 2023-2027 Strategic Plan. It received little opposition from the public or heritage advocates, and they agreed keeping Building 1 from a heritage standpoint. No objections or amendments were raised during the council meeting on Tuesday.
However, the owner who submitted the request didn’t participate in any of the meetings where there was discussion about demolishing the property. Lehman expressed surprise because this was almost the first time he can remember that an applicant didn’t even bother to show up.
“I’m assuming the owner saw what staff recommended, and I guess they were fine with that,” Lehman said.
While a future industrial redevelopment is described by the Heritage Impact Assessment, rezoning details need to be discussed further. Deciding whether to demolish these buildings is only the first step, “future uses of the land, that will be another application that comes forward,” Lehman said.
There weren’t many contentious issues regarding the demolition of 1361 Wilton Grove Road, but the balance between preserving history and promoting modernization remains an important issue for the city to face.
