Background

Jubilee Park is a large, popular park in Southampton, just a short walk from the downtown area. It covers about 2.8 hectares (around 7 acres) and currently includes two ball diamonds, splashpad, large accessible playground, small washroom building, pavilion, some parking on the perimeter and a large green space on the east side. A Master Plan for the park was approved in March 2024, to establish a guide forward for improvements and amenities.

In the past, the Town has used the Master Planning approach for initiatives such as the Recreation Master Plan (2016) and the Parks and Trails Master Plan (2004). Generally, the scope of these plans are town-wide, but a Park Master Plan has a very targeted scope for a specific park. The Master Planning approach is important for the following reasons. The plan:

  1. Guides the Town’s multi-year plan for park investment.
  2. Ensures proposed features, amenities and service are relevant to current and future desires of the community.
  3. Avoids “piecemeal” approach to planning and implementation.
  4. Creates a community vision for short-term and long-term park investment.

Individual Park Master Plans by design are meant to be conceptual and visionary with a 10-year time horizon. This timeline allows the park development to be coordinated and avoids a piecemeal approach. Furthermore, not every element of the plan will necessarily be implemented, there is flexibility in the timing of phases and priorities can be adjusted through the Town’s Annual Business planning. This approach also allows for exploration of partnership and sponsorship opportunities from various sources. The exact implementation is dictated by Council priorities and budget allocations and the details are finalized in the detailed design stage.

  • Two in-person public engagement sessions were held on Thursday, November 30, 2023, at the Southampton Town Hall (2:00 to 4:00 pm) and the Rotary Hall, Port Elgin (5:00 to 7:00 pm).
  • Participants and community members were also asked to participate in an online survey. A total of 232 responses were collected and analyzed.
  • Background reports and various email correspondence were also reviewed and taken into consideration when preparing the master plans.

The Master Plan

In fall 2023, the Town hired Landscape Planning Ltd. to help create a long-term plan for Jubilee Park.

The main goals of this work were to:

  • Gather input from the community and key stakeholders
  • Develop a vision for the park future
  • Create a concept design for the park
  • Provide a multi-year plan that includes estimated costs, priorities, and the order in which improvements could happen

The plan will help guide future upgrades and investments in the park.

A conceptual Jubilee Park Master Plan has been prepared based on public input and consultation. This includes scaled drawings of the park with the recommended amenities using graphics and photos to represent the concepts. By design, it is general in nature. Master plans are followed by a detailed designs that refine the features, and incorporate detailed site survey information and further refinement.

Master Plan Features

  • Phase 1

    Phase one items are indicated by a blue hotspot.

  • Phase 2

    Phase two items are indicated by a orange hotspot.

  • Phase 3

    Phase three items are indicated by a green hotspot.