Interview with the Warden - March 12th, 2026

Thursday, 12 March 2026 at 11:02

Warden Marcus Ryan talked about the Growth Analysis and Land Needs Assessment and the draft plan subdivision that was approved for Ingersoll.

OXFORD - The impact of growth was the one of the big topics discussed at the latest Oxford County Council meeting.

Oxford County Council received the Growth Analysis and Land Needs Assessment back in January, and asked staff to put together a report that details the impacts associated with it. That report was brought back to council during Wednesday's meeting.

Council decided to move forward with the land use planning after looking it over, but that's not all. Warden Marcus Ryan says they also directed staff to look into the costs associated with it, ways we can utilize the land we already have, and begin advocacy with the province.

"I think council did the responsible thing because we can't tell the province no to the growth, but we can have a more constructive conversation with the province about what growth really means for our communities, what it's actually going to cost us, and who should be paying for it."

He says we're expected to grow by over 220,000 people in the next 20 years, which was originally the growth estimate for the next 30 years.

Speaking of growth, Oxford County Council looked over three applications for draft plan subdivisions yesterday. One of them was based in Ingersoll, consisting of seven blocks around one new street that would have future residential developments, a new public school, and the highly anticipated Multi-Use Rec Centre (MURC).

Warden Ryan says the MURC has been in the works for quite some time now, and he is tipping his hat to Ingersoll Mayor Brian Petrie and the rest of Ingersoll Town Council.

"It's a beautiful project! It's the long-term hard work that municipalities should be doing to deliver a whole bunch of things for a community. It's also on the land that was part of that boundary adjustment between South-West Oxford and Ingersoll, so this really is the Oxford County growing stronger together brand."

Oxford County Council approved the draft plan for this subdivision. Mayor Petrie will be appearing on the Heart FM Morning Show on Tuesday, March 17th to tell us more the project and the next steps.

Warden Ryan also talked about the following during his interview on the Heart FM Morning Show today:

- The Wastewater Systems Performance Report and the Waste Management Report received by council yesterday.

- How the organics program has been going so far.

- March Break next week and his plans to take some time off to spend with his family.

You can listen to the full interview below: