JUNE 29, 2022 – 1:11 PM  PAUL MARTIN  NEWS, QUINTE

Work is now underway at the future home of the Belleville Fairgrounds.

A sod-turning ceremony was held this morning (Wednesday) at the site north of Black Diamond Road and east of Highway 37.

The Belleville Agricultural Society will be moving to a new site where they will have exclusive use of a 30-acre parcel of land and a new building that will be constructed to allow for year-round activities.

Cobourg Development Services Ltd. has been awarded a contract by the City of Belleville to extend a new sanitary sewer along Black Diamond Road to service the new Belleville Agricultural Fairgrounds site.

A new driveway from Black Diamond Road complete with water and sanitary servicing and lighting will be constructed into the site as part of this project. Rough grading of the City-owned property and construction of a stormwater management facility will also be completed.

Black Diamond Road sanitary sewer extension and the new Belleville Agricultural Fairgrounds site services project are scheduled to be completed by the summer of 2023.

The design and construction of the new, modern Belleville Agricultural building will be under a separate contract and is not part of this Black Diamond Road and site servicing works.

“Today marks the beginning of an exciting chapter for both the City of Belleville and the Belleville Agricultural Society,” said Mayor Mitch Panciuk. “We were so pleased to reach the initial agreement for this relocation in the fall of 2020 and now, this sod-turning ceremony gives a feeling of reality to all these plans. We know this new development will be a welcome addition to our region.”