The Problem

Cape Breton oceanfront offered to province now on market

Price too high to acquire as protected area, province says

Last Updated: Friday, September 7, 2007 2:48 PM AT CBC News

A pristine piece of Cape Breton wilderness is on the market with an asking price of $1.6 million, after the family that owns it first offered to sell to the province.

Pollett's Cove on the Cabot Trail is a popular spot for hikers and kayakers, near the Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

The oceanfront property has been in the MacGregor family since the 1870s, when it was deeded by Queen Victoria. The family is now selling 120 hectares of the property.

Real estate agent Tom Childs said the family wanted to sell it to the Nova Scotia government to be named a protected area, but was unable to reach an agreement on price.

"It is what you might call a trophy property. I mean, it is particularly beautiful, given that there are very few comparable properties in Canada, in the Maritimes certainly, or in the world," Childs said.

"This is extraordinarily beautiful, and for many people, at a price which is readily manageable."

Nova Scotia's Minister of Natural Resources David Morse said Pollet's Cove on Pleasant Bay would be an excellent fit for the province's protected wilderness areas.

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But the price is too high, Morse said.

"We did bring in an independent consultant to review the two appraisals, and he agreed with the appraised value of $533,000," Morse told CBC News.

"He wrote us a report outlining his concerns with the appraisal done by the landowners, and we were obliged clearly to watch out for the interests of the public."

Morse said Premier Rodney MacDonald would still like to work out a deal with the family to buy the property.

Duart MacAulay, warden of Inverness County, said the land should be added to the province's protected areas, rather than sold on the open market, because public access will be lost.

"Being sold to a private individual, you know the ownership then would be so that people wouldn't be able to access that property," MacAulay said.

"And it being right on the Cabot Trail, and one of the nicer areas of the trail, I believe it's in the best interests of all of Nova Scotians to have that as a protected piece of property."

On Friday Canadian author and environmentalist Farley Mowat and his wife, Claire donated their more than 80-hectare property on St. Peter's Bay on Cape Breton Island to the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.

The couple has lived in River Bourgeois for 30 years.

Mowat is calling on other Nova Scotians to follow his example and help protect the province's coastline by donating their land to the conservation charity.