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Board recommends protecting Banting Homestead

BY Kurtis Elsner October 26, 2007 19:10

The Ontario Conservation Review Board has recommended that all 100 acres of the Banting Homestead be protected as heritage land.

“The board is convinced that had Frederick Banting not been a 'farm boy' and son of a farmer who embraced experimentation, he might not have been successful in his approach to diabetes research,” board chair Peter Zakarow and vice-chair Su Murdoch wrote in a 25-page report released Friday afternoon.

The recommendation is the result of a two-day hearing in September that explored the merits of a Town of New Tecumseth plan to protect the property from development under the Ontario Heritage Act.

The recommendation is not binding, but does add weight to any municipal bylaw protecting the land should it be challenged in court. The current owner of the land, the Ontario Historical Society Foundation, objected to applying the designation to all 100 acres of the land.

The OHSF had sold the property to Solmar Development Corp., and proposed protecting only 4.7 acres surrounding the existing buildings. The remaining farm fields would then be available for residential development.

During the hearing, town solicitor Jay Feehely argued that the entire farm, including the fields, was essential in the development of Sir Frederick Banting as a scientist, and warranted protection. The OHSF argued that protecting the farmhouse, barn and other associated buildings was enough to preserve the essence of the property, and Banting’s memory.

In the report, Zakarow and Murdoch wrote that the farm played a pivotal role in Banting’s development, including providing financial and emotional support during his research. They also linked his experience on the farm, particularly his knowledge of livestock, to his research leading to the co-discovery of insulin.

“His involvement with all aspects of farm animal management is considered by many to be the foundation and stimulus to his discovery of insulin,” the report read.

The Banting family owned the land until 1999, when Edward Banting willed the land to the Ontario Historical Society. Since then, the vacant buildings have fallen into disrepair, and the fields have been rented to a local farmer.

As part of the board’s report, it said the OHSF “has demonstrated a reasonable commitment to this property, especially given that this is its first endeavour in property management.

During the hearing, the OHS admitted that it traditionally is not in the business of owning and protecting land. When the property was willed to the society, a separate foundation – the OHSF - was created to hold the land.

The report also said “it is evident to the Board that the OHS and OHSF hold a genuine regard for the future disposition of the subject property as a place of commemoration and have struggled with defining the essence that would preserve Banting’s legacy.”

The Conservation Review Board is part of the Ontario Ministry of Culture. Its mandate is to review objections to proposals to protect land under the heritage act.

For a full report, check out the upcoming Wednesday edition of the Alliston Herald.

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