A property that could become a keystone piece of the Coves Environmentally Significant Area (ESA) was recently purchased by the City of London. On Tuesday, council finalized the acquisition of 65 Coves Rd. for $625,000. The 3.1-hectare residential property next to the German Canadian Club of London is mostly forested and includes about 300m of shoreline along the ESA’s East Pond. Several neighbours on Duke Street whose homes back onto the property had been aware that it was listed for sale. “I was quite concerned,” explained Jane Burdis. “My property backs onto the Coves, and it’s always been very wild. It’s been a beautiful place that we walk to every day.” Deputy City Manager Cheryl Smith tells CTV News that there is a plan to add the property to the Coves ESA. “It is adjacent to the existing Coves ESA and provides ecological linkages connecting natural areas within the Coves,” Smith explained. Only a short distance from Downtown London, the Coves ESA contains 46 hectares of woodland and ponds, including five kilometers of hiking trails. More than 100 animal species have been observed in the Coves, plus 16 fish species in the ponds. However, the environmental oasis is not one contiguous property. Gaps between the parcels of woodland require the hiking trails to occasionally veer onto neighbourhood sidewalks before re-entering the forest. Moving the property from private to public hands helps fill in a large gap near the centre of the ESA and secure it for the future. “I’m really hoping that it’ll be as wild as possible, and kept as natural as it is now,” Burdis said. No timeline was provided to officially add the property to the Coves ESA.
