Bayswater residents on the Kingston Peninsula are upset with word that their more than 100-year-old lighthouse is reportedly going to be torn down within the coming week.
The white and red Bayswater lighthouse was established in 1914 according to the provincial government and is located on Route 845 on the inside of the Milkish inlet. It is the federal government’s property.
Jan Seely lives very near the lighthouse and she tells us they were actually expecting to have renovations in the order of $30,000 done on the structure before snowfall and then the lighthouse would be handed over to the community.
Efforts to have the community take over the lighthouse have been ongoing for several years now. The building is now surrounded with scaffolding which is wrapped in plastic and it’s been in that state for about a month and a half now.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans became aware of “structural deficiencies” during work to remediate the property, which was designated to be divested, essentially that the structure itself was much more rotten than was previously thought.
“Parts of the Bayswater lighthouse will be dismantled because they are beyond repair at this stage,” says David Jennings with DFO – Maritimes region, “other components such as the lantern and foundation will be preserved for possible future use.”
Seely says people in the area, including herself, are very unhappy about what is going to happen to the lighthouse.
“I’m sitting in my driveway now and I can see it, you know we’ve got visitors from all over the world that come to this community to paint and take pictures of the lighthouse and the covered bridge,” says Seely. “In today’s world I believe those types of things need to be protected.”
Seely says there’s been no consultation and no chance for those who live in the area to get involved.
“At the very least the community needs to be well informed about the details, they need to be given the opportunity to voice their concerns and that’s just common decency,” she says.
Kings-Centre MLA Bill Oliver says residents have told him that they want a hold put on tearing down the lighthouse until they have a local contractor come in. We asked him if that’s something he’s willing to work on.
“Most definitely,” he says, “having been a sailor over a number of years and having used the lighthouses as a guide to going up the river I really have…a feeling for those lighthouses.”
“DFO will work with interested groups, and continue to work with them if they choose to build a new structure with possible assistance through the lighthouse grants contribution program,” says Jennings.
