Gillies Grove in Arnprior: Developer finalizing purchase of land next to forest [Video]

Residents in Arnprior are concerned a new housing development could be the beginning of the end for a cherished old growth forest.

Cavanagh Communities has announced it is finalizing the purchase of 20 acres of land next to the Gillies Grove forest in Arnprior to build a new neighbourhood.

“We’re not planning any medium or high rise, or anything like that,” Pierre Dufresne, senior vice president of Cavanagh Communities told CTV News.

“(It will be) a ground-oriented community, similar to the community fabric of the existing neighborhood.”

The sale of land has been under heavy scrutiny by the community group, Save The Grove Again, which aims to protect the sanctity of the forest, dedicated as a national historic site.

“They don’t understand this land at all,” claims Lacey Smith, head of the Save The Grove Again group.

“They don’t understand the biodiversity of this land. There’s nothing vacant about any of the land …