Cabot Cape Breton pressing ahead with Mabou golf proposal despite opposition

A developer is pressing ahead with a controversial proposal to build a new 18-hole golf course in West Mabou Beach Provincial Park despite opposition.

Ben Cowan-Dewar, CEO of Cabot Cape Breton, has not publicly commented on the idea since it was raised in October.

But now, he says his company's experience building two courses in the nearby community of Inverness, N.S.Cabot Links andCabot Cliffsshows it is possible to strike a balance between protecting the fragile ecosystem in the park and sparking economic development.

"I understand the sensitivity and I think if we can look at recreation as one of the mandates of the park system and maintaining access and using the same soft footprint we have in building golf on the west coast of Cape Breton, I think those things can peacefully coexist as we've shown just up the road," Cowan-Dewar told Information Morning Cape Breton.

"Is there a case in Nova Scotia where golf has been built and protected sand dunes? There is and it's 20 kilometres up the road from West Mabou."

He also cited golf courses in national parks including Highlands Links in Cape Breton, Green Gables in P.E.I., Fundy National in New Brunswick and Banff Springs in Alberta as other examples of competing land uses.

"Is there a case where golf exists in parks? There are many in Canada and they are some of the hallmarks of the Canadian tourism Rolodex," Cowan-Dewar said.

The developer is proposing to lease about a third of the provincial park and says building the course would not change access to the public beach.

Environmental experts have said the coastal dune system and the beach at West Mabou are home to 18 rare or endangered birds, plants and lichens.

Cowan-Dewar said he has heard those comments, but they are not the only ones commenting on the proposal.

"I also hear from tons of people who have seen the hundreds of jobs we've created, the enormous investment we've made in Cape Breton," he said.

"We work hard every day to be a great employer and give back to the community and I think that means being a great ecological steward of the land and ... being a sensitive corporation to the communities in which we operate."

Some have said Cabot Cape Breton should look anywhere else along the coast where private land is available, rather than looking to lease part of a provincial park.

"I've looked at land in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia every year for the 18 years I've been doing it, so I'd never say never, but I don't have any other options that I can see," Cowan-Dewar said.

In October, Cabot hired former premier Rodney MacDonald, who lives in Mabou, to approach local arts, business and historical groups to gauge opinions on the proposal and to offer them annual payments to help them keep operating.

The developer has also created a website to provide information on the project and get feedback.

Cowan-Dewar said he's not ready yet to approach the provincial government with a solid proposal, but that is still in the works.

Proposal not submitted to province yet

"At some point we'll draw that to a close and move forward, either positively or otherwise and if it's positively, which I continue to hope it will be, we would submit an application to the government," he said.

In an email, Nova Scotia's Department of Natural Resources said it remains open to "hearing ideas that may provide a public benefit," but it does not have any to consider right now.

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