After years of tumultuous planning, London’s first permanent supervised consumption facility will soon open.
In a joint news conference hosted by the Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) on Monday, local officials announced that the Ontario government has approved an application for a consumption and treatment services site to open at 446 York St.
The approval includes funding to pay for renovations at the site and to undertake operations once it is ready to accept patients. Construction on the site is expected to begin in Spring 2021.
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An address that formerly housed John Bellone’s Musical Instruments, city council rezoned 446 York St. in late 2018 to allow for a supervised consumption facility.
The facility had long point been a point of contention, with the rezoning seeing opposition prior to its council approval and a group of Londoners filing appeals against the rezoning nearly a year after.
The appeals were later dismissed by the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal, a move that garnered praise from London Mayor Ed Holder and Middlesex-London’s medical officer of health Dr. Chris Mackie.
Monday’s announcement comes three years after the Ontario government declared the opioid crisis a public health emergency.
Soon after, the MLHU announced it was searching for a location for a supervised consumption facility. London’s temporary overdose prevention site (TOPS) — the first of its kind in the province — opened February 2018 on King Street, but the facility was always meant to be an interim measure while the city moved forward with plans to open a permanent facility.
The new facility at 446 York St. is expected to be able to serve three times as many clients as the temporary King Street site.
