Bright ideas
Local groups must come up with business plans for lighthouses.
SYDNEY — Lighthouses in Cape Breton have caught the interest of a number of community groups who have put in petitions to the Canadian government to obtain the historic beacons.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Parks Canada had received requests for 26 Cape Breton lighthouses by last year’s deadline.
Now, the community groups have a June 1 deadline to submit the business plans that are also required and must be approved before the lighthouses can be divested.
Barry MacDonald of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society knows of a handful of Cape Breton community groups that are well on the way to submitting a business plan.
“I think those groups out there that are really keen on saving their lighthouse, I think will come through,” he said.
The Canadian government’s lighthouse protection act said those interested in acquiring a lighthouse must submit a business plan that shows their proposed use of the property will be economically viable over the long term, and that they have the capacity to manage the property.
The June 1 deadline wasn’t carved in stone but the federal government has cautioned that after that date, they couldn’t guarantee having the necessary resources to process the plans, MacDonald said.
About 480 active and 490 inactive lighthouses across Canada had been declared surplus in 2010, including about 150 in Nova Scotia, meaning under the government of Canada’s new Heritage Lighthouse Protection Act, they could be transferred to new owners wishing to take advantage of their heritage designation or tourism potential.
For all of Canada, there were 548 petitions for light houses, including 92 in Nova Scotia.
Following its own assessment, the lighthouse pres er vation society had come up with a list of about 72 throughout Nova Scotia that were strong candidates for petitions from community groups, MacDonald said.
“At the end of the day, that number was exceeded by 20,” he said. “It was surprising and it was good. We were very pleased to see that.
“To me it’s just a testimony that these were so much a part of our history.”
MacDonald noted the lighthouse preservation society has a DVD available through its website (www.nslps.com) that would be a helpful guide in developing a business plan for a lighthouse.
“These things are magnets for tourists and tourists don’t mind paying five bucks to get in the door to see what a lightkeeper did,” he said. “Then there are all kinds of community activities, too.”
Lighthouses can be combined with other tourist draws in a community, he said.
The lighthouse society made a number of lighthouse petitions to make sure a request was in before the deadline while hoping some community group would then take on the responsibility.