Grey Highlands saw a slight uptick in building activity last year compared to 2023.
Council reviewed the number of permits issued for residential, commercial, institutional, industrial, and agricultural builds in 2024 during its meeting on Feb. 26.
By the end of last year, the municipality issued 475 permits compared to the 471 in 2023. The majority of the permits last year came from 66 new detached homes, 36 for townhomes, five new institutional builds, and 35 new agricultural buildings.
The municipality, however, experienced a loss in the amount of permit fees it collected last year. Grey Highlands raked in over $523,000 last year compared to the $602,000 in 2023.
Coun. Nadia Dubyk says, “When we take a look at the total year, 2023 versus 2024, very similar in terms of number of permits and value. Value is a little bit down, but there is also a difference in terms of maybe some of the institutional, commercial, but not a lot of change.”
She adds while the municipality experienced a slow down during the last quarter, Grey Highlands is still holding its own with the number of permits it is issuing.
Chief Building Official Karen Holt agreed with Dubyk’s assessment of the current status of permits in the municipality.
“At the time of writing my report, I think there was 32 applications and we have 50 applications at this point in time for 2025,” says Holt.