The Planning Manager for the Rural Municipality of Hanover says the province has some concerns with the final draft of their Development Plan.

Jeremy Neufeld says the province requires they review their plan every five years. The Development Plan is the planning document which the municipality enacts under the regulations of the Planning Act. It guides development and sets policies. Neufeld says because all subdivisions have to comply with the Development Plan, the municipality must ensure the plan reflects the direction the municipality is growing.

Neufeld says many of the comments that came back from the province were positive, however, there were concerns and objections to a few initiatives that Hanover is trying to implement.

Hanover would like to create a commercial corridor along Highway 52 between Steinbach and Mitchell and along Highway 12 between Steinbach and Blumenort. But Neufeld says though this is being supported locally, the idea is definitely raising concerns by the province. He explains Hanover's goal through this is to encourage and accommodate better commercial development within the municipality. Neufeld says there are similar developments along Highway 3 between Winkler and Morden and along McGillivray Boulevard between Winnipeg and the RM of Macdonald.

The municipality is also looking to try to come up with creative ways of doing some rural infill while at the same time managing the livestock industries and trying to avoid any sort of land use conflict that might come along with that. Neufeld says this too is a big area of contention with the province.

The province has raised objections and Neufeld says council will have to hold a public hearing. At that time the objections would be registered and then everything would be referred to the provincial minister. The minister then makes the final decision whether or not Hanover can proceed.

"As well there is going to be a lobbying effort I believe from the municipality to try and encourage the minister to understand where we are coming from and hopefully have them see the value in what we are proposing," suggests Neufeld.