Enniskillen Township hopes to encourage farm entrepreneurs with its new Official Plan.

The township is in the process of reviewing the document which guides all of the planning and building decisions made by Enniskillen. It held an open house last week to talk about the proposed changes.

Will Nywening, the Lambton County planner who works with Enniskillen Township, says most of the changes to the Official Plan are updates and bring Enniskillen in line with provincial planning standards.

“There is diversifying of some permitted use guidelines in the rural areas expanding on some of the on-farm businesses that farmers can practice as an occupation.”

That includes things such as agri-tourism uses and value-added businesses such as “making your own cheese on the property or selling your own fruit.

“A lot of these things are allowed already in practice…this will make it clear that these types of things are encouraged.”

The plan also updates rural lot creations policies and updates mapping of natural heritage features.

The full Official Plan is available on the municipality’s website www.enniskillen.ca or at the township office during business hours. There will be a special meeting of council Tuesday (May 5) to hear any concerns about the changes. It starts at 7 pm.