Peterborough Blogs
Peterborough County Hubs Program Expands
/The Peterborough County Hubs Program is now offering drop-in services in Millbrook, Havelock, Apsley and Norwood.
The new drop-in service, which started on Tuesday, gives rural residents access to supports related to health care, mental health, addictions, employment, developmental services, housing, income, senior services and more within their home community.
"The expansion of the Peterborough County Hubs Program is an important step in ensuring that all Peterborough City-County residents, no matter where they live, have easy access to the services and supports they need, said Peterborough city councillor Alex Bierk. “By bringing these services closer to home, we are removing barriers for communities across the region and making sure that residents can get help with everything from health care to employment services.”
The drop-in program has opened new hubs in several locations:
Millbrook Hub at Old Millbrook School - open Tuesdays 10 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Havelock Hub at Havelock Community Care office - open Wednesdays 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Apsley Hub at Apsley Community Care office - open first and third Wednesday of each month 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Norwood Hub at Asphodel-Norwood Township Office - open Thursdays 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.
The program is a collaboration between the City/County Social Services administered by the City of Peterborough, Canopy Support Services, Canadian Mental Health Association - Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge and Fleming CREW and Academic Upgrading.
A staff person from of the agencies will be at the hubs when the open for drop-in service.
The program builds on the existing Peterborough County Hubs Program that has nine locations across the county in Keene, Warsaw, Douro, Buckhorn, Lakefield, Millbrook, Havelock, Apsley and Norwood.
“Last year, I was proud to be at the launch of the eight Peterborough County Hubs which provided bookable space for social service providers to meet with clients,” said warden Bonnie Clark. “Local clients will now have the convenience to drop-in during office hours and not have to book an appointment. This pilot project brings social services access for our rural and small urban communities closer to parity with larger urban centres.”
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City of Peterborough Puts Out Call for Community Advisory Group Members
/The City of Peterborough is asking residents to consider joining the community advisory group that will help inform the creation of a Secondary Land Use Plan and Community Planning Permit System for the City’s Strategic Growth Areas.
The plan and permit system will help promote intensified development, speed up development approvals and implement the new Official Plan, the City of Peterborough stated in a media release.
The Strategic Growth Areas are designated in the new Official Plan and include the downtown core as well as major corridors such as Lansdowne Street, Chemong Road, Clonsilla Avenue, Water Street and Armour Road.
There are openings for two residents on the advisory group.
It will also include representatives from local community organizations involved in a range of issues including housing, transportation, arts, cultural heritage, Indigenous rights and heritage, and environmental sustainability.
Interested persons can apply at Connect Ptbo by Oct. 4.
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Monaghan Road Housing Project Making Significant Strides In Public Update From The City of Peterborough
/Construction of the City of Peterborough’s affordable housing project at 681 Monaghan Rd. will show significant progress in the coming weeks as precast structural loadbearing walls and precast floor slabs are installed followed by prefabricated wall panels, announced by the City of Peterborough on Tuesday.
This is the first City construction project to use prefabricated construction techniques.
Construction started in the fall of last year with an official groundbreaking ceremony held on Oct. 11 for the six-storey building with 53 units including 37 one-bedroom, 11 two-bedroom and five three-bedroom units with amenity space and utilities on the ground floor. Construction is expected to be completed this year.
“It’s exciting to see the progress of construction at 681 Monaghan Rd.,” said Councillor Keith Riel. “This important housing project is being funded as part of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Rapid Housing Program, so it was essential that the team assessed construction techniques for both cost efficiency and the ability to facilitate a shorter construction period.”
“Unity Design Studio, formerly Lett Architects, has a rich history in Peterborough and is proud to be collaborating with the City of Peterborough on this project - a crucial stride toward providing much-needed affordable housing,” said Roy Turner, Unity Design Studio senior project lead. “As the building takes form, we would like to express our gratitude for the dedication of the entire project team. Their commitment ensures that upon completion, this building will offer affordable housing to many and positively impact our community.”
“As proud members of this community, we are so fortunate to be able to help address this crisis with this much needed project,” said Craig Mortlock, Mortlock Construction president. “To date, we’ve spent many months working together with the City of Peterborough and the design team to design, coordinate, implement and construct this building. We are now at a very exciting stage of the project. We, and any other passerby, get to witness the fruits of the team’s planning and coordination, as the precast concrete structural panels are being delivered and placed on site. It is so rewarding to see this building taking shape so quickly, growing daily, eventually allowing so many people to call this building home.”
This affordable housing project received $18.9 million in federal funding through the third round of the Rapid Housing Initiative (RHI3), $40,000 in SEED funding, $854,810 through the Ontario Priorities Housing Initiative (OPHI) and over $4 million from the City of Peterborough.
The project will be home to vulnerable populations in Peterborough, including Black Canadians, people with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, homeless people or those at risk of homelessness.
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"People Are Just Getting Poorer" Peterborough's Housing Crisis Worse Than a Year Ago Says United Way
/The United Way Peterborough & District’s 18th Edition of Housing is Fundamental report says that the city’s housing crisis has become worse than a year ago according to author Paul Armstrong.
The announcement was made at United Way Peterborough & District as part of their annual report written by Armstrong that started 18 years ago.
It provides an overview of Peterborough's local rental market while also highlighting the impacts of the commodification of housing and income inequality.
“People are just getting poorer. That's all there is to it,” said Armstrong. “When your rent keeps going up and up and up, you're not in a position of having the same disposable income and without that disposable income, you're going to have to back away from something else in the marketplace. “
Armstrong’s key findings include:
Peterborough's vacancy rate is the lowest in Ontario for the second year in a row at 1.1 per cent
Newly vacant apartment rents were 19 per cent higher than the rent of occupied units
Recovery in employment and renewed student inflows supported rental demand
70 units were added to the market, which is the largest increase in the last 15 years