Fish and chips shop proposed for old Kensington smithy moves forward

A proposal to turn a historic, but unused, blacksmith shop in Kensington into a fish and chips eatery took another step forward Monday night.

Kensington Town Council voted unanimously, except for one councillor who was not present, to consider a development proposal for the James Mullally Blacksmith Shop from Karen and Trent Murphy.

The town owns the building and the Murphy’s had previously approached council to determine if it was willing to even consider their development, given the nature of the heritage building.

Some councillors had previously voiced concerns that allowing the development could irreparably change a piece of community history, but pragmatism seemed win the day.

 “I hate to see history covered – once they’re covered you won’t be able to have visible the old beams, the old style of construction that’s there. But, what have we done with (the building) for the past 25 years?” said Coun. Jeff Spencer.

“That’s just it. I’d like to see it stay too, but the fact is we can’t afford to hire somebody to sit there and have it as a museum – so what are we going to do?,” added Coun. David Doucette.

Council agreed that it is willing to move forward with the project in principal, the developer will still have to submit a development proposal to the town for final approval. 

The Murphy’s plan to rent the property from the town and to renovate it, at their own expense, to meet their needs. They have also committed to returning as much of the building as possible to its pre-renovated state if their venture does not succeed.

In addition to agreeing to move forward with the project, council also proposed an annual rental rate on the structure, not including utilities, of $2,400 for the time period between May 15 to Oct. 31, and for the rental agreement to be available for up to five years.

The building is part of the Kensington Rail Yard complex.

[email protected]

@JournalPMacLean