Scugog Council moves forward with Phase 2 of Your Voice, Your Fairgrounds community outreach project

Scugog – In September of 2025, Township of Scugog Council awarded RFP P2025-17: “Community Land Use Visioning Exercise – Port Perry Fairgrounds” to Darwin Pivot (DP), in partnership with J.L. Richards (JLR), to lead a fulsome public consultation process to engage residents and create a vision for the lands based on community input and values.

Over the course of several months, DP and JLR, alongside a steering committee comprised of Township staff, engaged residents and key stakeholders through multiple input mediums to gather feedback on how the community currently uses the lands, what it would like to see done with them, and what values they currently hold true that they would like upheld in the future. To gather this feedback, a mix of in-person and digital options were available to ensure an open, fair, and transparent gathering of input. These methods included in-person  ‘pop-in’ sessions, direct conversations with residents and user groups (e.g. Agricultural Society, Port Perry Seniors Club, local schools), community connectors, online commenting tools, email and phone submissions, and a survey available both digitally and on paper.

After months of gathering feedback, the project team received over 1,000 responses, a statistical representation that is considered very good for the size of our population. DP and JLR compiled and analyzed every submission, which led to the emergence of key themes. These themes, while not meant to provide a formalized ‘concept’ for the grounds, identified what is most important to the community now and in the future, which will guide the next phase of engagement and concept-building.

These identified themes include:

• Strengthen community connection

Residents view the Fairgrounds as a hub of social life, community identity, and shared experience. There is interest in year-round opportunities to gather in an inclusive, welcoming environment.

• Protect and enhance open, accessible green space

The Fairgrounds’ open character, being central, green, and walkable, was consistently described as a defining community asset.

• Honour heritage while looking forward

The Port Perry Fair and agricultural roots are central to local identity. While most people welcome improvements that would allow for a better use of the site year-round with a variety of amenities, they want changes to respect this legacy.

• Design for flexibility and shared use

Residents see the Fairgrounds as a multi‑use landscape capable of hosting both signature events and everyday recreation, incorporating dedicated or multi-use space for the Fair, like Elgin Park in Uxbridge.

• Stewardship over time

People want thoughtful, phased, sustainable care for the Fairgrounds, providing a new, community-focused era for the site.

These findings were presented to Council at the March 9 Special Council Meeting as an interim report. DP and JLR highlighted that the results of Phase 1 and the emerging themes will guide the next phase of the project with the goal of shaping more conceptual options for the lands that align with the above themes. This will be done through technical workshops with project teams and key stakeholders to identify what can and cannot be done with the lands. Residents will then have the opportunity to participate in a multi-session open house to dive into more specific ideas and potential amenities to add to the Fairgrounds. Digital input options will also be available for anyone unable to attend the in-person session. These options will be designed to allow the same level of input available at the session itself.

After reviewing the findings and hearing the presentation including next steps, Council voted to proceed with Phase 2 consultation.

“We’re thrilled to see more than 1,000 people take part in this process. From the beginning, our goal was for the community to be directly involved in giving their ideas and helping shape the future of these lands,” said Mayor Wilma Wotten. “As we move into Phase 2, we encourage everyone to keep participating and share their ideas in a respectful way. Every voice matters, and we want yours to help guide our decisions.”

The noted technical workshops are expected to begin in April, with the community open house expected to follow in May. We recommend everyone subscribe to our news reel and follow the project page to stay up to date on the status of the project. Anyone interested in viewing the Special Council Meeting can view a livestream recording through our Council Calendar.

Inquiries about this project can be directed to media@scugog.ca or the Darwin Pivot team through their email portal.

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Media Contact: Communications and Strategic Projects, Township of Scugog
905.985.7346, media@scugog.ca

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