Part 2: Who Supported the Wellbanks House Repairs and What It Means for South Marysburgh - 09/16/2026
Prince Edward County’s Built and Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee had one main public heritage decision to consider at its September 16, 2026 meeting: proposed repairs to the Welbanks House property at 1972 County Road 13 in South Marysburgh. The committee was being asked to recommend approval of Heritage Permit HP-17-2026 along with a Heritage Property Grant of up to $5,000.
The discussion was relatively short, but it provided more detail about why committee members supported the work and how the proposed repairs would affect the agricultural buildings on the property. Valrie Porter, Chair of the Built and Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee, led the meeting and called for the heritage permit and grant recommendation to be placed on the floor before opening the matter for discussion.
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South Marysburgh: Support for the Wellbanks House Barn Work
Councillor John Hirsch, Ward 9 South Marysburgh, moved the combined recommendation concerning the heritage permit and grant, with Edwin Rowse, committee member, seconding it. The recommendation called for Council to approve Heritage Permit HP-17-2026 and provide a Heritage Property Grant of up to $5,000.
One committee member who had worked on the heritage designation spoke strongly in favour of the application. The member described the work as both necessary and eligible for funding and highlighted the importance of seeing an owner maintain an agricultural outbuilding at a time when some older barns are being left to deteriorate.
Edwin Rowse agreed and provided more detail about what was happening to the cattle barn. Rowse explained that a small portion of the existing structure had started to collapse and was leaning against the main barn. Leaving it in that condition created the potential for the failing section to damage the larger structure beside it.
Rowse said removing that portion would not significantly affect the overall farmyard, which includes five agricultural buildings. He also pointed to the proposed reuse of materials. According to Rowse, timbers from the deteriorating section would be reused to reconstruct the end of the building and create a new waterproof end. He described that approach as an economical way of dealing with the problem while retaining the property’s heritage value.
The Wellbanks House is a designated heritage property, and the County identifies its complex of domestic and agricultural buildings, as well as the relationship of those agricultural buildings to the farmhouse, among its heritage attributes.
Committee Gives the Application Its Support
After the discussion, Porter asked whether any other members wanted to speak. Councillor John Hirsch indicated that he did not have additional comments. With no further discussion, Porter called the vote.
The recommendation carried, with the members participating in the recorded vote supporting the heritage permit and grant. No opposing vote was recorded in the public transcript.
The decision was a recommendation rather than the final municipal approval. The Built and Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee serves an advisory role and reviews heritage grant applications before making recommendations to Council.
Following the vote, Edwin Rowse asked when the recommendation would reach Council. Staff advised that it was expected to appear on the September 22 Council agenda. The published Council agenda subsequently included the committee recommendation to approve both HP-17-2026 and a Heritage Property Grant of up to $5,000.
Staff also clarified how the money would work. The Heritage Property Grant is a matching grant, so the approved amount could cover up to 50 per cent of eligible work rather than automatically providing the full $5,000. The committee had received a quote for more than $10,000, and the owner would need to complete the work and submit receipts and the required documentation before grant funding could follow.
Heritage Awards Discussion Moves Into Closed Session
The other significant portion of the meeting concerned the Prince Edward County Heritage Awards, but the discussion itself was not public. Edwin Rowse noted early in the meeting that he was close to Elizabeth Driver and wanted to avoid any perception of bias if her nomination came up. He said he would remain silent during discussion of her nomination.
The committee later voted to enter closed session to consider Heritage Awards nominations because they involved personal matters about identifiable individuals. The livestream ended at that point, and staff explained that it would not restart after the closed session. Any information that could be reported publicly would instead appear in the meeting minutes.
What This Means for the Locals
For residents of South Marysburgh, the committee’s decision supports repairs intended to stabilize part of a designated agricultural property before deterioration causes further damage. The approach discussed at the meeting would preserve the larger collection of farm buildings while reusing materials from the damaged section.
For owners of heritage properties elsewhere in Prince Edward County, the discussion also gives a practical example of how the County’s heritage process can work. A heritage permit can allow necessary changes to a designated property while the Heritage Property Grant Program may help with part of the eligible cost. The committee’s role includes reviewing heritage grant applications and making recommendations to Council.
More broadly, the meeting showed that heritage protection does not necessarily mean leaving an aging structure untouched. In the Wellbanks House case, committee members supported intervention because a section of the barn was already deteriorating, while the proposed solution was designed to retain the heritage value of the property and protect the remaining agricultural buildings.
Disclaimer: This article is based on a meeting with an approximate duration of 3:39:24. Due to the length of the meeting, our team was not able to independently review the full recording in its entirety. As a result, we relied on software-generated transcription, automated summarization, and automated recognition of speakers and participants, which may not be entirely accurate. All transcriptions, summaries, and related content are prepared by our team in good faith and on a reasonable best-efforts basis. The content is provided for general informational purposes only and is intended to support public understanding of the topics discussed. While reasonable efforts have been made to present the information accurately, automated processes may result in errors, omissions, or unintended misinterpretations. This article does not constitute an official, certified, or verbatim record of the meeting, and it should not be relied upon as such. Readers are encouraged to consult original source materials, official minutes, or recordings where available for confirmation or clarification. Questions, requests for clarification, or suggested corrections may be submitted to hello@pecconnect.ca for review and consideration.
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