Township of Blandford-Blenheim Council received an Official Plan amendment and Zone Change application in order to facilitate a proposed animal crematorium just outside of Innerkip during its regular Council meeting on Wednesday, October 1, 2025.
Dustin Robson, Development Planner for the Township, explained that the applicants, Matthew and Jacklynn Bowcott, were looking to build a 10,000-square-foot crematorium on 2.37 acres of land on their 31.8-hectare property.
According to the proposal, the facility would focus on equine and companion animals, and while the euthanasia of small animals would not take place on-site, there is a possibility that equine euthania might.
In terms of operations, animal remains would be collected by a truck and transported to the facility for cremation. To start, operating hours would run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., but depending on growth, could expand up to a 24-hour service. The plan also includes 24 parking spaces, an outdoor garden, and a secondary road access.
While the existing zoning on the property is currently zoned as A2 – General Agricultural Zone, the Bowcotts are seeking to have it rezoned as Special General Agricultural Zone (A2-sp) to permit the animal crematorium for equine and companion animals as an On-Farm Diversified Use (OFDU).
An OFDU, as indicated in the Official Plan (OP), provides reasonable opportunities for farmers to diversify their farming operation and/or supplement their income by allowing certain small scale, farm-related business activities to be established as a secondary use on their farm.
Robson told councillors that while staff received four letters of support for the operation, there were also 13 letters and a petition with around 190 signatures in opposition. Robson added that in staff’s opinion, the proposal as presented did not follow the direction of the Provincial Planning Statement or meet the OP’s definition of OFDU.
The planner said the main concerns were:
- Land: the operation would use 2.37 acres of land (including buildings, parking, landscaped areas etc.), and the OP limits OFDUs to 2 acres.
- Employees: the OP limits OFDUs to two employees who live off-site and must include a farmer living on-site. The proposal is to have anywhere between six and 12, and the Bowcotts do not earn a majority of their income from farming.
- Size: the crematorium building is proposed to be 10,000-square-feet, and the OFDU limit is 6,000-square-feet.
- Location: the OP suggests an OFDU should be within the established building cluster on the farm and use an existing driveway. The operation is proposed to be located in a field away from the main cluster with a new driveway
Councillor Bruce Banbury later asked if there was a more suitable location for an enterprise such as the Bowcotts and Robson said that in staff’s opinion, it was more suited towards an industrial area.
“In reviewing some of the existing crematoriums, specifically animal crematoriums in Ontario, the ones that I have been able to review so far do appear to be located within industrial parks or clusters,” he said. “I would preface that by saying as well that I have not looked at the zoning for every single lot, but if you look at the surrounding uses, they’re generally industrial in nature.”
Matthew Bowcott later explained the reason that he and his wife decided to go the agricultural route over industrial was because of a discussion with the Township’s Building Department.
“There’s no clear-cut definition within the codes of the zoning, and our assumption at the time was that it would be zoned similar to a dead-stock facility or an abattoir,” he said. “We reached out to the chief building official at the time to ask for clarification on this, and it was clarified to us back in writing, after he consulted with the Planning Department, that they would classify it as we had assumed – that it would be an AB (agricultural business) zoning, which means it is to be placed on agricultural lands.”
The applicant then went on to say that he and his wife have gone out of their way to ensure they did everything by the book when pursuing this endeavor.
“We started this process about a year and a half ago, and have really gone from a permission-based standpoint. We’ve reached out to council members, to the Building Department, and to the Conservation Authority; we’ve hired experts, and retained a full panel of engineers and architects,” said Matthew. “My wife and I went down to the United States and we became certified pet aftercare providers, so we could help further understand it. We’ve toured facilities and basically gained a full synopsis and understanding of what the industry requires, and what we would require to operate a good, reasonable business as this is.”
He also said that the reason the operation is proposed at its current size is because they were trying to be mindful of their neighbours by putting in another driveway, so they wouldn’t have to see the unloading of any deceased animals.
Given that the facility would include four crematoriums with four chimneys, the Bowcotts also hired air quality specialist, Sarah Pellatt, to help address any concerns.
Pellat said that facilities that have emissions to air and/or noise are required to obtain approval from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation, and Parks (MECP), and that all predicted concentrations were below the applicable air quality criteria, and that all noise levels were below the applicable noise guidelines too.
When Councillor Nancy Demarest asked if there would be any issues with odour, Pellatt said “there’s not a lot of odours associated with the actual process because it’s such a high heat and things like that.”
Later, seven residents who live nearby the Bowcott’s property also had the chance to express their concerns, many of which centered around: health risks from the emissions; the noise; the smell; increased traffic on Blandford Road; possible contamination to the local water sources; and the general impact to the surrounding lands.
Given that Council had just received the report and all of its information, as well as the background from the Bowcotts, it was ultimately decided to defer the application to a later date.
“As Council, we like to make an informed decision, because to be honest with you, if we say no to this application today, it could go to the Ontario Land Tribunal,” said Mayor Mark Peterson. “So I would like to make an educated opinion on it so that we’re right at this point. …We’re not saying yes or no, we’re going to put it ahead to another meeting so that we can think about all of that information that was presented.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
