Developer loses court battle to remove heritage status on WW1 battery in Quebec [Video]

The Quebec Superior Court has ruled against a real estate development company that wanted the heritage status removed from First World War fortifications overlooking the St. Lawrence River east of Quebec City.

In a ruling on Monday, Justice Denis Jacques said the interests of the public must be weighed against private interests on matters of conservation and heritage classification.

“In this case, the private interest of real estate developers has given way to the interest of the general population in preserving these vestiges of the First World War, as suggested by the (Culture Department’s) experts,” Jacques wrote in his decision.

The court ruling says the heritage site is located on two parcels of land, one owned by the municipality of Beaumont and the other by a real estate company called Gestion Breton Martineau. The ruins include a former munitions shelter, located on the municipality’s land, and two casemates — a …