A volunteer at the Hastings North Tourism Centre with strong local roots said tourism in the area is thriving but believes there’s still a gap to fill.
Mary Kavanagh, a former Bancroft councillor, said she would like to see an earth science centre, and has completed a great deal of research on the idea.
“I was born and raised here, and my great-grandparents came here in the 1850’s, so I have an historic view of the development of this area.”
Bancroft is on the Canadian Shield, the mineral capital of Canada, and the forestry industry has sustained the area for 200 years. Kavanagh is confident people would come to town to learn more about the area’s rich history.
“We have a lot of people moving in, and a lot of tourists come through, but (what) if we could stop them here for something more than picking up a coffee and staying overnight and using some of the trail system,” said Kavanagh.
She says 100 acres of land would be the ideal size for the centre, adding the days of school boards purchasing land to create outdoor educational opportunities are long gone, but a centre would be one way to offer that type of learning.
“We’re only two-and-a half-hours from Ottawa and two-and-a-half-hours from Toronto. All of those schools could experience their outdoor education at an earth science centre.”
Kavanagh said the area MP and MPP reviewed the idea in 2018 and agreed it is something that could benefit the community. The next step, she said, is to assemble a group to develop a business plan.
“Then we could look at building a new hotel when we would have a product to fill the rooms 365-days-a-year.”
A recent study commissioned by Hastings County shows Bancroft is the best spot for a new hotel in the municipality. Kavanagh said if classes of kids are coming throughout the winter, they will bring their parents back during the summer.
“To me, that’s the way of the future for Bancroft.”
Kavanagh was first elected in 2014. The previous summer, the town hired an engineering firm to conduct a traffic study, which showed just how busy Bancroft is.
“At that time, it said there were five million (people) that passed through Bancroft. The town is, geographically, in a very unique position because it’s at the intersection of Highway 62 and Highway 28. It’s a very unique transportation hub.”
