The final draft of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan is now available for community review.

The Town of Cobourg thanks all residents and community groups who took the time to participate and share their perspectives, providing invaluable input in shaping a Plan that reflects the needs and priorities of our community.

The Town also extends its sincere gratitude to the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Task Force for generously volunteering their time and sharing their expertise throughout the last several months. The Task Force has received the final drafts and will be meeting on June 23 and July 6, and will present their recommendations to Council at the July 22 Summer Council Meeting.

To see the Town of Cobourg's full Public Notice regarding it's release, please CLICK HERE.

To read the Appendices, CLICK HERE.

As the Cobourg community continues to evolve, there is a need to refresh and amalgamate the Parks Master Plan (2013) and the Recreation Strategy and Implementation Plan (2016) into an aligned, long-range plan that will support the continued development of a healthy, active, and engaged community.

Parks and recreational facilities are integral to community well-being, providing accessible and cost-effective leisure opportunities to all residents to remain physically and socially healthy.

With Cobourg’s setting on Lake Ontario, strong heritage character, and role as a regional hub, the Town is at a key moment in its development as a welcoming and connected community. The Parks and Recreation Master Plan will be a framework for ensuring that parks and recreation spaces reflect current and future needs to serve a broad spectrum of community members while ensuring fiscal sustainability through a clear set of action items and cost allocation estimates.

The Town of Cobourg engaged thinc design (Toronto-based landscape architecture and planning firm) to support the development of a Parks and Recreation Master Plan.

Beginning in Fall 2025, the Cobourg community was encouraged to meet with the consulting team at an in-person Community Workshop and share feedback through an online survey open to everyone. A telephone survey was administered to landlines as well as cell phone-only households to capture a statistically representative sample of community needs and interests, including users and non-users of parks, facilities, and programs. The consulting team also conducted engagement activities with Town Council, municipal staff, and community partners, organizations, and groups that use parks and recreation facilities including sports leagues, seniors, and youth.

A Consultation & Engagement Summary Report was presented to Council in January 2026 and is found in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan’s Appendices.

The draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan was made available for the community to review from May 20 to June 8, 2026. The plan is divided into four needs assessments:

• Parks and Open Spaces
• Indoor and Outdoor Recreation Facilities
• Programs and Events
• Service Delivery

Within each of the assessments are recommendations to guide the Town over the next 10 years. The consulting team developed these recommendations based on-site observations, usage data, facility schedules, municipal goals, feedback from the community, related plans and policies, discussions with staff, comparator municipalities, and emerging trends.

Following the public review period, feedback was incorporated into the Final Draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan, which is now available for review. The plan will help guide decisions and investments in Cobourg's parks, recreation facilities, programs, and services over the next 10 years.

The final draft Parks and Recreation Master Plan contains 175 recommendations for Cobourg's current and future parks and recreation needs over a 10-year term, developed by an independent consulting team. The Plan is intended to be a strategic guiding document, providing Council and staff with a high-level framework to prioritize investments, manage assets, and develop policies to 2036.

While it identifies broad priorities and spatial needs, the specific execution of these recommendations (including individual review, detailed design, community consultation, and exact timelines) will occur through future, project-specific planning and the Town's annual budget process. The Plan is intended to be a living document.

The final draft Plan includes section 6.0 – Implementation, which includes a suggested implementation schedule over the 10-year term to 2036. This includes timelines (Short Term: Years 0-2, Medium Term: Years 3-5, Long Term: Years 6-10) and capital costs (if applicable) estimated by the consulting team as of 2026. The proposed roll-out of the recommendations is based on the information available at the time of the Plan's development and considers staff resources, flexibility, dependencies and efficiencies.

Sections of the Plan that contain the most significant revisions include:

• Public Health and Parks (Pages 64–65)
• 117 Durham Street (Page 118)
• Waterfront Nature Park (Pages 109–110)
• Trail Map (Page 81)
• Centennial Pool (Page 151)
• GRCA Ownership Recognition

The final draft Plan will be presented to Council at the July 22, Summer Council Meeting, which begins at 1 p.m.

Request to Speak at a Council Meeting
Members of the public who wish to speak to Council regarding the Plan may attend the Council meeting in person or electronically and request to speak. Members of the public may request to speak or submit comments to Council on a staff report that is included on the Council Agenda. Speakers can speak directly after staff present their Staff Report and prior to Council deliberation on the matter.

To speak in-person, fill out a Request to Speak form at, or prior to, the meeting, and provide it to Clerk's staff. Please contact the Clerks department at 905-372-4301 or email clerk@cobourg.ca for additional information.

If you prefer to attend electronically via Zoom, submit a completed Request to Speak Form to clerk@cobourg.ca by 12 p.m. the business day prior to the meeting and you will be registered as a virtual speaker. For more information on speaking to Council, refer to the Request to Speak form.