Final Draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan Available to View

Cobourg, ON (June 22, 2026) – The Town of Cobourg Community Services Division is pleased to announce the final draft of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is now available for community review at EngageCobourg.ca.

The public engagement process for the initial draft Plan launched on May 20, 2026, through the Town's online engagement platform, Engage Cobourg, and included an in-person Open House on May 25.

Engagement concluded on June 8, with impressive community participation. The Engage Cobourg project page received 2,884 unique visitors, with 348 pieces of feedback submitted by 265 contributors. Feedback was also received at the Open House, with approximately 100 community members in attendance, and through phone calls and emails to project team members.

The Town also extends its sincere gratitude to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Task Force for generously volunteering their time and sharing their expertise throughout the last several months. The Task Force has received the final drafts and will be meeting on June 23 and July 6, and will present their recommendations to Council at the July 22 Summer Council Meeting. 

Final Draft Plan Updates
The final draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan contains 175 recommendations for Cobourg's current and future parks and recreation needs over a 10-year term, developed by an independent consulting team. The Plan is intended to be a strategic guiding document, providing Council and staff with a high-level framework to prioritize investments, manage assets, and develop policies to 2036.

While it identifies broad priorities and spatial needs, the specific execution of these recommendations (including individual review, detailed design, community consultation, and exact timelines) will occur through future, project-specific planning and the Town's annual budget process. The Plan is intended to be a living document.

The final draft Plan includes section 6.0 – Implementation, which includes a suggested implementation schedule over the 10-year term to 2036. This includes timelines (Short Term: Years 0-2, Medium Term: Years 3-5, Long Term: Years 6-10) and capital costs (if applicable) estimated by the consulting team as of 2026. The proposed roll-out of the recommendations is based on the information available at the time of the Plan's development and considers staff resources, flexibility, dependencies and efficiencies.

Sections of the Plan that contain the most significant revisions include:

• Public Health and Parks (Pages 64–65)
• 117 Durham Street (Page 118)
• Waterfront Nature Park (Pages 109–110)
• Trail Map (Page 81)
• Centennial Pool (Page 151)
• GRCA Ownership Recognition

Residents are encouraged to review the final draft Plan at EngageCobourg.ca. The final draft Plan will be presented to Council at the July 22, Summer Council Meeting, which begins at 1 p.m.

Request to Speak at a Council Meeting
Members of the public who wish to speak to Council regarding the Plan may attend the Council meeting in person or electronically and request to speak. Members of the public may request to speak or submit comments to Council on a staff report that is included on the Council Agenda. Speakers can speak directly after staff present their Staff Report and prior to Council deliberation on the matter.

To speak in-person, fill out a Request to Speak form at, or prior to, the meeting, and provide it to Clerk's staff. Please contact the Clerks department at 905-372-4301 or email clerk@cobourg.ca for additional information.

If you prefer to attend electronically via Zoom, submit a completed Request to Speak Form to clerk@cobourg.ca by 12 p.m. the business day prior to the meeting and you will be registered as a virtual speaker. For more information on speaking to Council, refer to the Request to Speak form.