Beechville worried new homes may disturb graves

Some residents of Beechville in the Halifax Regional Municipality say they're worried a proposed subdivision will disturb unmarked graves in the area, despite changes already made by the developer.

Armco Capital Inc. wants to build a 300-home subdivision along St. Margarets Bay Road, next to Beechville Baptist Church and its burial ground.

The company has already revised its plans and agreed to cede some land to the church to ensure some ancestral burial plots are preserved along with a baptismal path between the church and a lake.

Dennis Wright, a resident in the area, is still worried unmarked graves will be disturbed and said he's upset some clearcutting took place before any archeological studies were done.

"If they haven't located where the unmarked graves are, how do we know that they haven't disturbed any of our ancestors?" he asked.

"I feel strongly that before any digging goes on and any dynamite goes off and anything that might disturb these people should stop. And if there's not been any qualified archeologists in here to look into these grounds that nobody should be up around here."

Wright and about 60 other residents attended a public information meeting on Monday night to hear about Armco Capital Inc.'s plans.

Greg Zwicker, a consultant for the Armco Capital Inc., said a development agreement with the Halifax Regional Municipality will ensure the archeological studies are done.

"There's no intention to dig through graves, to move graves. Our intent is to get the proper study done," he said.

Planners with the Halifax Regional Municipality will now review the proposal. There must be a public hearing before councillors make a final decision.