Lanark Highlands Council to revisit controversial Highland Line Pit proposal at Sept. 11 meeting

A public meeting next week is expected to reignite a years-long debate over a proposed aggregate pit near Barbers Lake, as Lanark Highlands Council prepares to consider zoning changes needed for a large aggregate pit project to move forward.

On Sept. 11, 2025 at 6 p.m., councillors will gather at the McDonalds Corners Agricultural Hall at 394 Camerons Road to host a meeting originally suspended in March 2023, where Thomas Cavanagh Construction Ltd. (TCCL) is seeking approval to develop a below-water-table aggregate pit along Highland Line.

As previously reported by Lanarkist, the Ottawa-area based company acquired the property in 2019 and has proposed extracting up to two million tonnes of sand and gravel from the site, with the possibility of removing an annual amount of 500,000 tonnes. TCCL’s plan includes excavation below the water table and projections that up to 30 trucks per hour could leave the pit during peak operation hours.

For many local residents, the prospect of noise, traffic, and environmental impacts has fuelled an ongoing resistance over the past few years. The proposed site lies alongside Barbers Lake to the east and Long Sault Creek to the south. Although TCCL notes both waterways are more than 100 metres from the extraction area and setbacks are in place, local residents say the potential risks are too great.

In April 2023, concerned residents formed the community group Friends of Lanark Highlands, a non-profit group that has coordinated a organized opposition to the Highland pit.

Since then, residents of the area have mustered unprecedented opposition to the proposal…” shared Carolee Mason of the community group Friends of Lanark Highlands, “making their concerns known through hundreds of letters to the Aggregate Resources Branch of the Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF), and to the Township of Lanark Highlands and County of Lanark. ”

As previously reported by Lanarkist in May 2024, the Wheeler family of Wheelers Pancake House and Maple Museum, which sits just 1.5 kilometres from the site, say they worry about truck traffic and noise disruptions negatively impact both the environment and tourism in the area.

The Wheeler family are just one example of locals who have expressed an interest publicly about the pit proposal and have subsequently shown up to meetings, filling venues to capacity. Mason says the group is expecting a similar turnout next week, as residents raise concerns about potential health risks, environmental threats, and incompatibility with surrounding businesses and land use.

“As of March 2025, the MNRF had declined to approve the application under the Aggregate Resources Act,” Mason explained. “It now falls to township council to decide whether to approve the zoning and Official Plan amendments needed for the pit to proceed.”

This upcoming vote will be pivotal for the community, whichever way it goes. MNRF, Lanark Highlands Township and the County of Lanark will be present and collaborate to make crucial decisions to allow or deny the pit application As such, all residents and stakeholders are being encouraged to attend the meeting on Sept. 11.

“Township officials will consider all new information around health risks, environmental threats, incompatible land use, and other issues of local concern,” Mason stated.

More information is available at friendsoflanarkhighlands.org or by contacting the township clerk at lhclerk@lanarkhighlands.ca.