Judge clears the way for MLHU move into Citi Plaza in downtown London

A Superior Court of Justice ruling has ended an attempt to block the move of the main office of the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) into Citi Plaza at 355 Wellington St.

On Friday, Justice Johanne N. Morissette ruled it was not appropriate for the landlord of MLHU’s current office on 50 King St. to use the Health Protection Promotion Act to prevent it from leaving the space.

In January, the MLHU entered into a letter of intent to lease a space in Citi Plaza, with plans to leave its current office.

Plans for the move hit a roadblock when Middlesex County, the landlord in question, voted against the move and called on the province to appoint an assessor to investigate the decision-making process at the health unit.

Other concerns voiced by the county included a lack of consultation, costs of the move and a failure to follow the Health Protection Promotion Act.

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Afterwards, the MLHU applied to the Superior Court of Justice for a ruling to determine whether the consent of the health unit’s municipal partners is required for the proposed move.

That application kicked off a more than two-month long judicial review.

For medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie, the decision came as a surprise.

“We did not actually expect this today, we expected it to come next Friday,” Mackie said.

He added that the MLHU plans to sign the lease for Citi Plaza as soon as possible.

“It will be probably 18 months before we can actually move in, give or take six months, depending on how construction proceeds.”

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Mackie said the new space will use workplace 2.0 principals, meaning more shared spaces and private offices, along with a better use of technology.

He added that the new space will also downsize to 70,000 square feet from the current space’s 85,000 square feet.

Looking back on the ordeal, Mackie said he wished there would have been less resistance to the move.

“I wasn’t happy that this had to go to court, but the judge’s decision validates that this was the right step to take.”

The MLHU’s office in Strathroy will not be impacted by the move.