Council recognized Appleby College as a cultural heritage landscape in March 2026 and started the path to designating the campus
On March 2, 2026, Planning and Development Council approved a heritage evaluation of the Appleby College campus at 540 Lakeshore Road West, recognized it as a cultural heritage landscape and moved it to the final phase: a designation by-law.
- For the campus on the Town's heritage register: Appleby College, 540 Lakeshore Road West.
The details
What Council decided
On March 2, 2026, Oakville's Planning and Development Council approved the Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report for Appleby College, the independent school at 540 Lakeshore Road West in Ward 2. In the same motion it recognized the Appleby College campus as a cultural heritage landscape and moved it into Phase Three of the Town's Cultural Heritage Landscape Strategy: implementing protection measures and creating the associated designation by-law.
The motion was moved by Councillor Duddeck and seconded by Councillor Chisholm, the two Ward 2 councillors, and carried. The recommendation report was dated February 17, 2026, from the Planning and Development department.
- Appleby College, 540 Lakeshore Road West, Ward 2
- Cultural Heritage Evaluation Report (Appendix B to the February 17, 2026 report)
- A cultural heritage landscape
- Phase Three: protection measures and a designation by-law
- Listed, not designated (checked November 11, 2026)
What the Town values on the campus
A cultural heritage landscape is an area valued as a whole, buildings, grounds, views and paths together, rather than a single building. The Town's heritage register already lists 540 Lakeshore Road West as having potential cultural heritage value as a landscape associated with a historic institution. Its entry names five buildings: Appleby Alumni House from about 1923, Colley House from about 1911, Appleby Memorial Chapel from about 1919, the Headmaster's House from about 1911 and the Old Barn from about 1913.
Listing on the register gives limited protection: an owner must give the Town notice before demolishing a listed building. Designation under the Ontario Heritage Act goes further, requiring heritage approval for changes to the attributes the by-law identifies. Phase Three is the step that would draft those attributes and bring a by-law to Council.
Where it stands now
As of November 11, 2026, the Town's heritage open data still lists 540 Lakeshore Road West as a listed property with no designation by-law, and OakvilleIQ found no notice of intention to designate the campus in the Town's 2026 heritage or planning notices. Under the Ontario Heritage Act, a designation starts with a public notice of intention, which opens a 30-day objection period before Council can pass the by-law.