"This Community Improvement Plan (CIP) was prepared in tandem with the Downtown Cobourg Master Plan (DMP), and has been prepared to complement, support and be implemented in conjunction with the DMP. The preparation of these two documents was a collaborative effort between the consulting team, the Town, Downtown Vitalization Action Committee, and other stakeholders.

"Downtown Cobourg consists of approximately 230 businesses. Some are thriving and others are struggling to meet new age consumer demands. Cobourg’s baby boomers are retiring and with this demographic reality we are witnessing the closing of mainstay shops. Add to this the arrival of new businesses, some which have no formal business or marketing strategies, heritage buildings that require more than just a face-lift, and climbing vacancy rates. It is time to develop a long-term sustainable plan for downtown Cobourg.

"The Downtown Master Plan provides detailed and strategic direction for the revitalization of Downtown Cobourg by building on the overarching policies outlined in the existing Official Plan and a number of other strategies and economic development initiatives developed for the Downtown over the years. The Master Plan contains a downtown strategy, urban design guidelines, and implementation tools to assist the Town in guiding new development, investment and community building initiatives in Downtown Cobourg for the next 10 to 20 years.

"In 2015 a facilitated workshop was conducted with Brockville’s community and business leaders to determine where future strategic directions are required to continue Brockville’s economic development growth. The results were captured and incorporated into the strategic update in addition to reviews of progress since the previous strategy and socio-economic data from Statistics Canada. This strategic update contains three primary components:

"On May 24, 2017 Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced the closure of their Brockville production plant, affecting all of it 480 employees.