Regina mayor takes steps towards expansion

The City of Regina wants to get bigger and that could mean extending its borders to include a neighbouring rural municipality.

The city's Mayor, Michael Fougere, said some land owners in the RM of Sherwood want access to Regina's services, such as sewer, water and fire protection.

Fougere said theRM is currently in negotiations with the city to find an agreement for possible annexation.

The talks come despite pastdisagreements between the city and the RM on development in the area, with the most recent dispute dating back to November of last year, regarding Kal Tire's plans to build near the new Global Transportation Hubon the western edge of Regina.

"What we want to do is of course accommodate those that want to be within the city as part of our growth," said Fougere.

"This is very much in keeping of both the province's strategy of growth and our strategy of growth of seizing those opportunities and moving forward right now."

The city said it also needs more land because it's anticipating significant population growth over the next 25 years.

"So we're talking hundreds of millions of dollars in potential investment and jobs around the city and in the region and this is a way to facilitate that," said Fougere.

The city has already invested close to $1 million on joint planning with neighbouring municipalities.

The RM of Sherwood said it will comment on the potential expansion next week.