Norfolk County’s mayor and staff are reassuring residents that there are currently no plans for boundary changes after a request from the owners of a mall situated on the edge of Tillsonburg to have it included within the town.
Nov 03, 2025 •
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Norfolk County’s mayor and staff are reassuring residents that there are currently no plans for boundary changes after a request from the owners of a mall situated on the edge of Tillsonburg to have it included within the town.
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A letter from E& E Mc Laughlin Ltd., presented to Tillsonburg council at a meeting late last month, asked for Norfolk Mall, located at 400 Simcoe St., to be incorporated into Tillsonburg through a boundary adjustment.
The mall is in Norfolk near the Oxford County line. Oxford provides water and sewer services for this property.
A letter from Kassandra Way, chief operating officer with E& E Mc Laughlin, mentioned ongoing issues with loitering in the mall parking lot leading to noise and litter complaints from nearby residents. “Police response times from Simcoe have proven ineffective, as the individuals in question often leave before officers arrive,” she noted.
This situation, along with water and sanitary sewer services not being available in Norfolk, led Way to request that the property become part of Tillsonburg.
The request also revealed that a Winner’s store is set to open at this location next year, taking over 22,500 square feet previously occupied by Walmart. Additionally, a new standalone building of 40,000 square feet will be built on-site to accommodate two or three more businesses.
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A news release from Norfolk County stated that there have been no discussions regarding municipal boundary changes between Norfolk and any neighboring municipality. It emphasized that discussions about boundary changes only happen when both parties agree to it willingly.
“Often, considerable financial compensation is considered for the municipality giving up land,” said the release.
Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin expressed concern about media reports and social media chatter involving Tillsonburg. She highlighted how important it is to protect Norfolk County’s commercial/employment assessments.
“I want to assure the residents of Norfolk County that I would fiercely defend the retention of employment land to our provincial partners. Norfolk County takes pride in governing based on facts – not rumors – and is committed to ensuring residents have accurate information before drawing conclusions.”
Katherine Mc Curdy, director of communications for Norfolk County, mentioned that E& E’s property forming part of the mall is billed around $114,000 annually for property taxes.
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Tillsonburg Mayor Deb Gilvesy also released a statement addressing “some misconceptions” regarding the mall property.
Gilvesy mentioned that a delegation commissioned by Oxford County presented council with a report including a land needs analysis which concluded that additional commercial lands will be needed within Tillsonburg’s boundaries for future growth.
The letter from mall owners was received by councillors during this same meeting.
Gilvesy pointed out that “any significant growth or redevelopment on this site is limited unless it falls within (Oxford) County’s jurisdiction.”
“Because the town does not own water and sewer infrastructure for this property, it’s been appropriately referred to (Oxford) County for comment and review,” she added.
Meeting minutes show council approved a resolution stating that “the Town of Tillsonburg requests support from Oxford County to pursue inclusion of 400 Simcoe Street as part of Tillsonburg.”
Gilvesy confirmed there’s been no formal application submitted by mall owners regarding potential boundary adjustments nor has there been any discussion between Tillsonburg and Norfolk County.
With files from Jeff Helsdon, a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter based at Woodstock Ingersoll Echo. The initiative is funded by Government of Canada.
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