Synod Council Moves to Sell Bagnall Lodge Property

Following a thorough discernment process regarding ministry possibilities by both the Board of Canterbury Hills and the Diocese, Synod Council passed a motion at its September meeting to consider offers of purchase for one of the remaining two parcels of land on the Canterbury Hills property. The parcel, on which Bagnall Lodge is situated, is approximately five acres and has been the primary site of Canterbury Hills’ conference ministry. This decision comes after the Board of Canterbury Hills made the decision to end its lease with the Diocese for this part of the Canterbury Hills property.

Any potential sale will not impact the summer camp and outdoor education programs which will continue to run on the remaining parcel of Canterbury Hills land owned by the Diocese. As Bishop Michael Bird stated in his charge to Synod, Canterbury Hills faces significant challenges but its board “is committed to re-imagining their mission and programs.”

A previous agreement will see a separate parcel of the Canterbury Hills property, some sixty acres of environmentally sensitive land, formally transferred to the Hamilton Conservation Authority in the coming weeks.

The Canterbury Hills property, located in Ancaster, Ontario, is part of the Dundas Valley Environmentally Sensitive Area, and the Provincially Significant Sulphur Creek Valley area.