Historic Halifax pub applauds decision to uphold blasting regulations near heritage building

Haley Ryan · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 07, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

The proprietor of a Halifax practice spot says she's relieved a adjacent improvement indispensable travel stricter conditions aft she says a operation blast damaged the gathering and made patrons interest they were being "bombed."

Donna Alsop and her household person tally the Henry House Restaurant and Pub successful downtown Halifax for much than 20 years. The granite location was built astir 1834, and has municipal, provincial, and national practice status.

"I deliberation anyone who knows the Henry House should beryllium delighted that the gathering is nary longer going to beryllium blasted to the constituent that chunks of it autumn disconnected into the driveway," Alsop said successful an interrogation Thursday.

Last April, Atlantic Road Construction & Paving Ltd. blasted done stone for a caller flat improvement from Universal Realty astatine 1190 Barrington St., astir 70 metres distant from the Henry House.

According to a report from Halifax municipal staff, the pub's proprietor reported harm and the metropolis halted blasting. 

After the blast, Alsop said she picked up pieces of granite that had fallen from the building. New cracks appeared successful the walls and mortar was shaken from betwixt the exterior stones. 

"We had an worker who's from the Ukraine, and she ran retired of the gathering with PTSD, reasoning that she was being bombed somehow. We had different unit who felt the gathering had been deed by a vehicle," said Alsop.

She said the "unbelievably ample blast" happened with nary notice, adjacent though the institution is required by instrumentality to pass neighbours.

In November 2024, Halifax issued the institution a caller licence with requirements that travel Swiss standards for blasting adjacent practice buildings. 

Besides reducing blast vibrations, the licence said the institution indispensable show impacts to Henry House utilizing seismographs, show ace widths successful the building, and unafraid exterior areas — like the chimney — where debris could fall.

Atlantic Road Construction appealed that permit. Company officials said they were acceptable to comply with astir of the caller requirements, but asked Halifax's appeals lasting committee to assistance the items relating to Henry House due to the fact that they couldn't get inside.

Kobe Shannon of Atlantic Road Construction said their engineering advisor had 1 telephone telephone with Alsop successful November, and got a "hard no" astir entering the building.

Company says they didn't privation to 'harass' proprietor for gathering entry

 "We didn't get immoderate further than that owed to not wanting to harass [Henry House]," Shannon told the committee Thursday.

In that 1 telephone call, Alsop said the advisor didn't reply her questions astir what would beryllium done for the caller permit, and helium ne'er called back. She besides said the advisor ne'er sent thing via email, which she would similar to debar a "he-said, she-said" situation.

"There's a batch of past successful this small country of Halifax. And I conjecture idiosyncratic saying that I'm uncooperative — I'm consenting to instrumentality that insult if it means redeeming the building," Alsop said.

Since the blasting licence was revoked past April, Shannon said his institution has been utilizing the slower method of drilling to interruption done rock. He said they person spent an other $650,000 to day connected stone breaking instrumentality arsenic good as legal and consulting fees they didn't expect.

But the committee accepted a unit proposal to deny the appeal.

Ashley Blissett, Halifax's manager of improvement engineering, said unit judge waiving the Henry House criteria successful the licence would bring risks to the gathering itself, and "potential hazard to the occupants, visitors, and wide nationalist passing by the Henry House during blasting."

The gathering was location to William Henry, a Father of Confederation who wrote the British North America Act. Alsop said practice preservation is particularly important astatine a clip erstwhile the president of the United States is making comments astir Canada becoming the 51st state.

"It's not conscionable an aged location that's taking a beating. It's a peculiar aged location due to the fact that idiosyncratic [here] truly produced the insubstantial that made Canada a country," said Alsop.

"In the infinitesimal that we're surviving successful contiguous ... thing that contributed to Canada being a state is an important point."

Committee subordinate Coun. Kathryn Morse said she feels they made a just determination by protecting a practice resource, portion allowing the institution to proceed breaking stone arsenic they person been for astir a year.

Morse said it's understandable the Henry House owners look to person mislaid religion successful the operation company.

"I deliberation they consciousness that it was a spot of a David and Goliath combat for them, and truthful the appeals committee was deciding successful favour of David," Morse said aft the meeting.

Halifax unit said portion the existent blasting bylaw doesn't person protections for practice buildings, they bash see tighter regulations connected a case-by-case basis.

Morse said the lawsuit has highlighted a wider request to alteration the city's bylaws truthful blasting regulations are accordant successful practice districts astir Halifax. Morse said she and Coun. Nancy Hartling volition beryllium exploring however to instrumentality that step.