On December 18, 2025, the Town of Erin posted Notices of Intention to Designate for ten downtown properties on Main Street, including 46, 92–94, 100, 102, 108–110, 115, 119, 126 and 132 Main Street. This move starts a formal heritage designation process aimed at protecting the village’s historic core and ensuring these buildings are managed under provincial heritage rules.
Under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, designation prevents demolition or removal without municipal approval and requires owners to obtain heritage permits for any alterations that affect identified heritage attributes. The step also responds to Ontario’s More Homes Built Faster Act (Bill 23), which requires municipalities to move listed properties to designated status by a provincial deadline or have those properties removed from the municipal register for five years.
Highlights in this batch include the former Erin Advocate building at 126 Main St., noted in the evaluation reports for plasterwork by local stonemason Major James Justice, and George Ramsden’s store at 132 Main St., a longstanding retail landmark. The Town of Erin Council and the Town of Erin Heritage Committee, with oversight from David Waters, Manager of Planning & Development, posted the Notices of Intention to Designate following cultural heritage evaluation reports prepared for the Town.
Property owners have 30 days from the date the notice was posted (Dec. 18) to file a written objection with the Town; unresolved objections may be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal. Full notices, the Cultural Heritage Evaluation Reports and details on submitting comments are available on the Town of Erin Heritage Planning page (the Town has posted notices and supporting reports pertaining to this batch).
Cultural Heritage Evaluation Reports prepared by consultants (including Archaeological Research Associates Ltd.) conclude that many of the buildings in the batch — constructed roughly between 1880 and 1910 — meet provincial criteria for design, historical and contextual value. The designations aim to preserve Erin’s “pioneer” streetscape as the community grows and undertakes infrastructure upgrades, including a major wastewater project.
