Linwood health centre project moves forward with Wellesley Township agreement

The Linwood Community Centre is set to become home to a new medical clinic addition, as Wellesley council moves forward with plans to expand local health services. Linwood Recreation Committee facebook photo

By Galen Simmons

A long-planned expansion of health services in Linwood took another step forward recently after Wellesley township council approved a construction and funding agreement that will allow a new medical facility to be built at the Linwood Community Centre.

At its March 10 meeting, council authorized township staff to enter into a construction and funding agreement with the Woolwich Community Health Centre (WCHC) for the development of a new health-centre addition at the community centre on Ament Line.

“We’ve been working with Woolwich Community Health Centre to construct a medical facility on the end of the Linwood Community Centre,” Wellesley CAO Rik Louwagie said. “They are at the point now where they’re very nearly ready for construction to begin, at least on the foundation. For that to happen, for us to give permission to the health centre to do that on their own rather than the township take on that contract, we need this agreement in place with them.”

The agreement will allow WCHC to move ahead with permit applications and begin construction planning for the facility, which is intended to expand access to health services for residents in Linwood and surrounding rural communities.

Currently, WCHC provides services in Wellesley Township through the Linwood Nurse Practitioner’s Office, located in privately owned leased space, and through the Wellesley Health Clinic at the township’s recreation complex.

According to a report to council, the existing Linwood clinic space is no longer large enough to meet the needs of the growing community and also presents accessibility challenges for patients.

Under the approved agreement, the township will provide space on the Linwood Community Centre property for the health-centre addition, while WCHC will be responsible for the design, construction and operating costs associated with the facility.

“I just wondered if, aesthetically speaking, somehow the windows could be moved up at the end,” Coun. Lori Sebben asked. “It’s just a minor thing and I know … because of the drop down (in elevation), it makes sense that the windows have to be lower, but I think, aesthetically speaking, it would probably look a little nicer if all the windows were at the same level.”

“This is a township building in the end and we do need to approve of the drawings and of how the building will look,” Louwagie responded. “So, if that’s what council would like to see is those two windows in the front be raised up higher, I would recommend we only raise the top and keep the window sill at the same elevation that it’s currently drawn, or else they wouldn’t be able to see out of those windows because they would be five to six feet off the floor because this floor will be three feet lower than the library and community centre floor.”

The project follows a memorandum of understanding approved by council in September 2025 that allowed both parties to begin design work and explore the feasibility of adding a clinic to the community-centre site.

Based on the proposed design drawings, the medical-centre addition would be built on the east side of the community centre, and it would be 2,092 square feet in size with an additional parking area established directly adjacent to the northeast. The proposed drawings include a reception area and waiting room, three exam rooms, a lab, a pharmacy, office space and a staff room.

The new space will operate independently from the rest of the community centre and library, and will not include an internal connection to those facilities.

Design work for the project is already well underway, and WCHC is preparing to apply for building permits. Township staff indicated drawings are nearing completion, with an application for a foundation permit expected as part of the next stage of the project.

The project will also include several site improvements around the community centre property. Plans include paving the existing gravel parking area and opening Lin Dunn Lane to provide a second entrance to the recreation facility site.

Township staff have also secured approval from the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for upgrades to the onsite sewage system required to support the addition.

While WCHC will be responsible for the cost of constructing and operating the health centre, the township will incur some costs related to legal review and portions of the sewage-system upgrades required to accommodate the new facility.

In response to a question about the cost of building permits from Coun. Claude Hergott, Louwagie said the township has agreed to reduce permit fees by about 65 per cent.

“We anticipate that a building permit will be issued very shortly for a foundation as well as relocating the door in the library from the east wall to the north wall; that needs to happen to maintain that second exit for the library,” Louwagie said. “ … Weather permitting, we expect to see something start there in the next few weeks.”