County of Brant Council received two planning applications to facilitate the expansion of an existing transport truck terminal facility in Burford during its recent council meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2026.
Ryan Cummins, a senior planner with the County, explained that the applicant is looking to amend the Official Plan to bring a portion of land at 291 Bishopsgate Road into Burford’s urban settlement area and change its designation from Agriculture to Employment.
A separate zoning by-law amendment has also been submitted to bring the property’s zoning in line with the employment designation. Changing it from Agricultural (A) to a site-specific Heavy Industrial (M3-X) Zone.
Andrea Sinclair of MHBC Planning, the agent speaking on behalf of owner Ed Chwastyk, said the applications would essentially “facilitate a minor expansion of the settlement boundary to support the growth of an existing transport operation, creating additional employment in Burford while supporting the agricultural sector and maintaining a viable agriculture parcel.”
Contrans Transport is currently operating on 5.3 hectares of land at 297 Bishopsgate Rd., and has purchased the approximately 45.9 hectare property next door for future growth.
Cummins said the applicant will be submitting a future consent application to sever the property, creating a 5.4 hectare lot and consolidating it for the expansion, while keeping the other approximately 40 hectares as agricultural land.
Given that the applications were being brought forward for information purposes only, Sinclair said that the proposed development, if approved in the future, would accommodate an additional 250 jobs in Burford and add 32,400 square-feet of office and employee space, along with additional truck and employee parking areas.
She also said that the applications are still at an early stage and would need further review and approvals before the expansion could proceed.
“These applications will also be subject to site plan approval, in which we will be required to submit detailed plans, including lighting, landscaping, detailed servicing plans, building elevations, and all the various technical levels of detail that gets examined through site plan,” Sinclair said. “As I noted, these applications will also require a lot line adjustment through a consent application. That application has been submitted and is currently being reviewed by staff at the County. These applications have been supported by a number of technical reports, including archeology, land-use planning, agricultural impact, traffic, noise, land needs and others. The application and technical reports have been circulated for agency review and preliminary comments have been provided.”
She continued, saying, “There are no significant environmental features on the property, and there is no archeological or cultural heritage value that’s been found on the property. The applications will support employment growth, and they’ll keep existing employment within Burford. The applications represent an efficient use of an existing employment area in a location where significant investment has already been made. It contributes to the planned urban industrial area within Burford. It maintains a viable agricultural parcel, and the transport business supports the agricultural operations in the surrounding area.”
Following the presentations, Council had the opportunity to ask Sinclar a variety of questions about the applications.
Referencing the mention of creating an additional 250 jobs, Councillor John Peirce asked if a bulk of those would be jobs for drivers.
Sinclair said that while she didn’t have the exact breakdown, she could bring back more information at a later date.
“But, I can say that a significant part of the application is for additional office space for permanent employment on the site itself,” she responded. “So there would be additional driving employment, but we’re expecting some full-time employment within the expanded office area.”
Councillor David Miller then asked if the applications, when brought forward for consideration in the future, were to fail, if Contrans had any other options to expand.
“My understanding is their preference is to stay in Burford,” Sinclair responded. “If they were not able to, then they would look at other options, one of those being in Woodstock where they have another facility. But their preference is to stay within Burford.”
Building on the discussion, both Councillor Ella Haley and Councillor John Bell asked why the owners did not consider expanding the business to the north of the current facility, where the land is already zoned for employment, rather than to the south.
“My understanding is those lands weren’t available for purchase,” Sinclair said. “If you look at the lands immediately to the north, it’s not large enough for what they’re hoping to do with the expansion, so it would likely require the assembly of a few parcels.”
Bell also asked about how much additional truck traffic there would be on Bishopsgate Road if the proposed development was approved.
“It’s our understanding that while there may be some increased traffic, it’s all within what the existing network can accommodate,” said Sinclair. “If it is determined through the review of that final report that a left turn or some other infrastructure is needed, and if it’s driven fully by this development, that would be at the cost of the developer to put in any necessary turn lanes, etcetera.”
Councillor Robert Chambers later asked when they could expect the applications to return with a recommendation for Council to deliberate on, and Jeremy Vink, Director of Development Planning, said staff are trying for October, but it could be December or January.
The vote to receive the applications as information only and send them back to staff, was carried.
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.
