Niverville hopes to double in size after annexation approval

Niverville is in the process of annexing land from the RM of Hanover, and if approved, would allow the town to double in size.

As Manitoba’s fastest-growing community, the Town of Niverville has been teaming up with community planning consultants Urban Systems to help plan the next step of that growth.

Jeff Palmer, Community Planner with Urban Systems says Niverville will absorb all available vacant residential land within the next 15 to 20 years and as a result, the town recently submitted a proposal to the Manitoba Municipal Board to transfer lands from the Rural Municipality of Hanover to the Town of Niverville in a process known as annexation. The proposal was submitted with the support of the RM of Hanover.  

Palmer explains, “Niverville can't really grow to the west, so it has to grow east and has been experiencing a bit of a development constraint. That's why it's important to make these decisions now so that we don't find ourselves struggling or in a difficult position in the years ahead. There are probably 50 parcels of land or so that are affected, representing roughly 2500 or so acres, and it's generally the land that runs east along Hwy 311 up until Hwy 59. It is a larger parcel than previous requests, but what we found is that Niverville’s population growth continues to exceed all projections over the last 10 years. So, rather than continuing to make an application to the Municipal Board every three, four, or five years, asking for more land, it makes sense to have these discussions now, rather than to let the lands get developed with not the most appropriate uses or in a haphazard way.” 

The town plans to connect individually with each affected property owner to discuss any concerns they may have. There will also be two public meetings for Niverville residents to attend. There will be no formal presentation, but individuals can come and go at their convenience.  

Public Meetings will be held on December 8 and December 13 from 5pm to 8pm at the Niverville Heritage Centre.  

The proposed annexation will be completed in 2023 once the consultation period with landowners and hearings with the Manitoba Municipal Board has been completed and then approved by the Municipal Board and the province.