General maintenance work is ongoing at Woodwynn Farms as B.C. Housing consults with the Tsartlip First Nation about the property’s future.
Roof repairs, soil sampling and cleaning are being carried out on the Central Saanich farm in the 7700-block of West Saanich Road, B.C. Housing said in a statement Friday.
The provincial agency has entered into a lease agreement with a local farmer to harvest hay.
As well, it has an agreement for a site representative to provide an ongoing presence. Duties include providing access by contractors to the site.
B.C. Housing will “engage further with the district” after its discussions with the First Nation, the statement said.
The province bought the farm in July 2018, saying it planned to use it as a therapeutic recovery facility for people dealing with substance abuse and mental-health challenges. It was not planning to put housing on the site, which is in the Agricultural Land Reserve.
B.C. stepped in to buy the farm after its previous owner, a non-profit society, was facing foreclosure because its debts were nearing $6 million.
The province said it would invest $6.9 million on the farm. Of that, $5.8 million was to purchase the site and $1.1 million was for renovations, fees and consulting costs.
