Connaught School recommended for heritage designation

REGINA – There may be a ray of light for community members wanting to preserve Regina’s Ecole Connaught School.

The Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee made the recommendation Monday night to give the school a heritage designation. The committee says it made its decision based on Connaught’s cultural value, architectural significance and the fact it was one of the first bilingual schools in the Regina Public School system.

“We feel that somebody has to speak up for this building. It’s the oldest elementary school in Regina still being used for its original purpose. It opened in 1913. Other schools of that vintage have been demolished,” said Dr. Bill Brennan, president of Heritage Regina.

If city council agrees to grant the designation, that would prevent the Regina Public School Board from demolishing the school.  However, it’s rare for a designation to be given without the desire of the owner and it’s for this reason city administration has a different recommendation for council.

“We have a standard application process that we go through and certainly a big part of that is consultation with the property owner. In this particular case the property owner has clearly indicated to us that they do not support it as a heritage designation,” said Fred Searle, manager of current planning in the city planning department with the City of Regina.

City council will vote on the decision June 23.