Future of massive former encampment site near Barrie’s downtown decided

The future of a massive former encampment site near the heart of downtown Barrie is now becoming clear. The temporary fencing that borders Dyment’s Creek will soon be anything but temporary.

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The City told CTV News late Thursday afternoon that permanent fencing will encase the once massive homeless encampment site located in a quiet wooded area between Victoria Street, John Street, and Anne Street South.

All access to the public will be restricted, according to city staff.

CTV News has also learned that the cleanup is officially complete. Video footage taken from the scene earlier in the year shows a heavily wooded area that was plagued by tents, homes and garbage.

As of Thursday, the area appears to have fewer trees and a stream barely flowing through.

It’s been more than 10 weeks since the City put up fences around Dyment’s Creek. The Ministry of Environment ordered the site to be closed due to contamination, giving the Barrie until Oct. 31 to clean it up.

According to the County of Simcoe, 44 people were living in the encampment area, with 35 of those people having since accepted support.

The site, according to Barrie police, is the scene of a double homicide that took place earlier this year. Robert Ladouceur, the man officials say is responsible, remains behind bars facing a number of charges, including murder.

Those developments prompted Mayor Alex Nuttall to declare a state of emergency in the city regarding encampments on Sept. 9 - which remains in place.

• Barrie, Ont. encampment site remains closed: Here’s a timeline of what we know so far

Barrie had done its own water samples in the area, and reported Dyment’s Creek showed high E. coli levels, more than five times greater than a beach posted for E. coli bacteria.

The City says it is still waiting on official sign-off from the Ministry of Environment to drop the emergency order that deemed the site hazardous.

There is no final estimate as to what the cleanup will cost and it remains unclear as to when the permanent fencing will be installed.