Integrated Community Sustainability Plan

The default Integrated Community Sustainability Plan (ICSP)(2.81 MB) sets a long-term vision for Bridgewater as a "sustainable community", and outlines the goals, strategies, and actions that our community can take to achieve it. Completed in March 2010, it will act as a guide for Town of Bridgewater initiatives for approximately 5-7 years, when it will need to be updated. Its 6 key topic areas are energy, food, transportation, the economy, municipal infrastructure, and education for sustainability. Please click on the image to the left to download a copy. The file is a PDF document and may take a few moments to download.

How Was The Plan Created?

Through the public consultations called “imagine Bridgewater” (2007), members of our community made it clear that we want to live in a town that is clean, vibrant, and a good place to live and work. We want to live in a community that meets today’s needs, and the needs of future generations. In other words, a “sustainable” community: one that can support an attractive economy, serving a healthy and equitable population, all living within the Earth’s means.

As a new requirement for environmental infrastructure funding, all municipalities in Nova Scotia, and throughout Canada, were expected to prepare and submit ICSPs by March 2010. By taking on this planning process, the Town of Bridgewater fulfilled its legal and financial obligations, and also responded to the wishes of its citizens. In doing so, the Town made a commitment to becoming a more sustainable organization, and pledged to work with our residents and local partners to create a more sustainable community.

The ICSP planning process started in early 2008, with the hiring of a new Sustainability Planner using Gas Tax funds. The Town also formed the Sustainable Planning Focus Group (SPFG), an advisory group made up of town councillors and staff, as well as members of the Bridgewater community representing diverse economic, environmental, social, and cultural interests. The Sustainability Planner and the SPFG organized a series of public events and surveys in order to bring the community into the planning process. They also started the Bridgewater Sustainability Partnership program, so that local businesses and organizations could contribute to the initiative. As a result, the ICSP is a document that was developed in close collaboration with the people and organizations of the Bridgewater community.

Developed through public participation, the Town of Bridgewater’s ICSP will guide future policy and planning, as well as municipal operations and community programming for a long time to come. The ICSP also overlaps in several areas with Council's Community Plan, a long-term strategic plan for Bridgewater that formed as a result of the "imagine Bridgewater" consultations.

For reference purposes, below are a few documents with more information on the creation of the ICSP:

• ICSP Project Outline: the original work plan proposal
• ICSP Program Brochure: a public brochure for the ICSP planning process
• ICSP Project Timeline: outlines the difference phases of the planning process
• Public Participation Plan: the original work plan for engaging the community
• SPFG Membership: a list of the people who sat on the Sustainability Planning Focus Group during the planning process (2008-2010)
• Public Events: a list of public events hosted by Sustainable Bridgewater from 2008-2010

Note: all files are in PDF format. Some may take a few moments to download.

ICSP's in Nova Scotia

To learn more about the planning and financial requirements for municipal ICSP's in Nova Scotia, please visit the Canada - Nova Scotia Infrastructure Secretariat website.