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This is the house Leclerc once lived in on de l'Anse Rd. (PHIL CARPENTER/The Gazette)

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Neighbours oppose plans for Félix Leclerc house

Project could see include building a theatre on site

The Gazette
Thursday, June 26, 2008

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This is the house Leclerc once lived in on de l'Anse Rd. (PHIL CARPENTER/The Gazette)

At least 250 Vaudreuil-Dorion residents are not singing the praises of the Félix Leclerc Society after the group unveiled plans last week to open a museum preserving the memory of the Quebec poet and chansonnier.
The Société de sauvegarde de la memoire de Félix Leclerc wants to turn the farmhouse where Leclerc once lived on de l’Anse Rd. in Vaudreuil-Dorion into a museum and art centre.
Plans might include building a theatre behind the home, though the group says that could be at least 10 years away.
Leclerc, who died in 1988, began his career at the farm, composing many of his songs and poems there. He lived in the small waterfront home for more than a decade in the 1960s before leaving for France, where he achieved international fame.
The Société bought the home in 2006.
But a group of residents, including immediate neighbours, say while they support the idea of preserving Leclerc’s memory, they don’t want a large scale project in the residential area.
Marie Belle-Isle and her husband, Roger Hinse, who live next door, submitted a 250-name petition to the Vaudreuil Regional County recently.
In order for the Leclerc project to proceed, the county must grant a cultural designation to the land on which the house sits. Five other homes would be included in the change, including the one owned by Belle-Isle and Hinse.
“(The Leclerc house ) is shack right now and (the Société) wants to invest more than half million dollars and still keep the same cachet,” said Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon.
A registry on the issue will be held  in early fall, Pilon said.