GEORGE NEWS - The natural surroundings and sense of place of Wilderness are the main characteristics that make this village attractive to more and more people who are settling here. 

But there is grave concern among a group of residents that the pace and scope of development taking place as a result of the influx, is gradually cutting away at these very qualities.

This was highlighted again at a public meeting on Thursday evening, 31 August, organised by Save Wild and Waleaf (Wilderness and Lakes Environmental Action Forum). (Save Wild is a recently established platform for creating awareness of the sensitivity of the biodiversity of the greater Wilderness area.) 

The meeting was held at the Wilderness Hotel.

Environmentally fragile

Waleaf chairperson Melissa Dalton in her presentation said most people are not aware of the environmental fragility of the greater Wilderness area.

Her slide show demonstrated that it is situated in the buffer zone of the Wilderness Section of the Garden Route National Park, a World Heritage Site, and within the Garden Route Biosphere Reserve. 

Furthermore, the lakes are a declared Ramsar Site (in GRNP), which means that the government (SANParks) must take the necessary steps to ensure that its ecological character is maintained. 

Save Wild's mission is to create awareness of these facts, whereas Waleaf is a watchdog that, as an independent and affected party, gives input regarding the environmental impact of all building applications received by the George Municipality for Wilderness.

Law encroachments and relaxations

Dalton aired concern that applications for new builds, renovations, relaxations and rezoning changes are increasing rapidly.

"We are finding that there are more and more encroachments and relaxations of the different laws and regulations for bigger buildings. We are seeing unsustainable and very high environmental footprints. Every time we comment on an application, indigenous vegetation is removed. We are disrupting more and more wildlife corridors and the number of protected tree species permitted to be removed to give way to development is ever-increasing."

She said Waleaf would like for every person in the chain of a property's sale and development to be conscious of the area's environmental status so that decisions can be made that will ensure the best outcome for the environment. The buy-in of estate agents, environmental consultants, the town planning department and landowners is necessary.

"We want the municipality to not approve all the relaxations and zoning application requests without the proper motivation, and furthermore get landowners compliant. Fencing and lighting by-laws should be more comprehensive to reduce the impact on the movement and activity of wildlife. We also want all landowners, including George Municipality, to get rid of the alien invasive vegetation."

Staying informed

She urged all residents to join their local conservancy as well as Waleaf so that they can become more informed and able to make environmentally conscious decisions.

Mike von der Heyde, founder of Save Wild, stressed that they are not against development, but would like to see sensitive development that takes place within the boundaries of the law.

Destruction

Maretha Alant, principal planner at SANParks, said in the past 10 years she has witnessed the destruction of at least 2 000 hectares of indigenous vegetation and related ecosystem services. "Our rivers are under a huge threat, too many animals get killed by vehicles, and fences restrict movement. Wildlife corridors need to be formalised. 

"We are slowly eroding the area because of habitat loss as a result of development and agriculture. We have to decide where we are going and when enough is enough."

SANParks comments on development proposals and land use change applications in the buffer zones of the 21 national parks under its management. Between 2013 and 2023, they commented on 227 developments in the Wilderness Section of the Garden Route National Park, said Alant.

Spokespersons for the communities of the informal settlements in Nature's Valley (at Kleinkrantz), Touwsranten / Hoekwil and Wilderness Heights also had an opportunity to talk about community upliftment projects in their various areas.

A slide provided by Melissa Dalton that shows an approximation of the applications Waleaf received from 1 December 2021 to July 2023. The pins are not accurate to the erf number (so as not to implicate property owners), but simply an indication of where they are concentrated.

Read George Municipality's comment on these issues below:

Lauren Waring, director of Human Settlements, Planning and Development at the George Municipality, responded as follows to the concerns of Wilderness residents: 

Legislation governing the built environment is not limited to environmental law, and achieving the balance between the various sets of legislation has never been a simple task. Decision-makers in the employ of the municipality apply decades of experience, combined with knowledge of the area and qualifications, supplemented by peer learning acquired over the years of their employment as public officials, to conclude their decision on each case in a manner that satisfies the core principles of the Spatial Planning and Land use Management Act.

Due diligence is followed with each land use application, commencing from the pre-application stage to ensure the applicant is duly informed of policy and requirements of the relevant frameworks. 

In the case of Wilderness, an additional process of environmental authorization may precede the approval of building plans, which also demands committed engagement between the case officer and a duly qualified, registered environmental practitioner.

Building plan applications are often declined on the first outcome based on environmental factors and the developer may find themself in a position where the demands in terms of environmental parameters do not align with the parameters in planning law. The middle path is often found in departures, which enables us to preserve the critical elements of a site while still allowing the owner to exercise the latent rights their property already holds.

Of a total of approximately 1 430 residential properties in Wilderness and Kleinkrantz, there are still approximately 310 undeveloped residential properties in the Wilderness area within the urban edge. 

A visit to the municipality’s online GIS Viewer will confirm that several of these vacant plots were established long before the Wilderness areas were incorporated into the George Municipality boundaries. It can be readily accepted that when these owners decide to take up their rights, they will need to remove vegetation to build their house like every other property owner before them has done. 

The authorities reconciled with this impact at the time of approving these layouts and will not deny a property owner to capitalise on their investment.

The statement, “We are seeing unsustainable and very high environmental footprints” is not clear, but within the context of the enquiry, it is assumed that this relates to biodiversity loss. 

The municipality shares the same concerns in this regard and to this our permits demand that owners, under the oversight of an environmental consultant, rescue indigenous vegetation. 

We have identified a site that can be used as an offset for re-planting trees, where trees have been removed from the developed site. Thus far we have not encountered any property owners that are unwilling to abide despite the additional cost this incurs on their development. 

The removal of alien vegetation is generally handled over the course of these applications, and while it comes with some degree of loss of biodiversity, property owners are encouraged to re-introduce indigenous vegetation over the course of time.

Fencing

The concerned person appears to focus only on the urban and small holding areas of Wilderness, designated for urban and peri-urban activities. The areas beyond the built environment are strictly protected by upholding the urban edge. 

It is unfortunate that some property owners engage in activities without authorisation from the municipality and these are dealt with as contraventions through the relevant channels. Resolving a contravention has never been a speedy process and can often incur significant costs to the parties concerned. 

The erection of illegal fencing is commonly found in the area, as property owners appear to be oblivious to the fact that even erecting a fence is a construction activity and demands authorisation. 

Where authorisation is requested, the municipality ensures that fencing is erected sensitively where practically possible. New measures regarding the erection of fences in natural areas have been incorporated into the amended zoning scheme by-law.

Lighting

Lighting is addressed in all environmental applications processed by the municipality, however, the demand for a by-law in this regard presents several challenges as a by-law will apply to the entire municipal area and lighting is often applied as a security measure. 

There is also no national legislation to guide this issue and we have requested such from the relevant authorities.

Unconstitutional

We are in agreement with Walea’s appeal to persons in the chain of a property's sale and development to familiarise themselves with the area's environmental status and invite such role players to explore the resources made available on the municipal website and particularly our GIS Viewer. 

We take note of Waleaf’s demands not to approve any more applications in the Wilderness area, however, this would be unconstitutional and does not ascribe to principles of fair administrative justice. 

Each application has been and will be evaluated at its merit and sufficient reasons will be supplied to justify the decisions.

Our mechanisms of control in this regard have greatly improved over the past five years and continued improvements will be applied where resources allow. There has been a significant increase in development and growth in George largely due to the excellent infrastructure, good governance, social facilities, lifestyle, and the environment. 

It is unlikely that this growth will diminish over the short term. Clearly, this growth provides significant opportunities, and the challenge of creating room for all our citizens to thrive while preserving our resources, agricultural, natural, heritage, etc., keeps intensifying. 

We remain committed to this task and ensuring our decisions promote the public interest of all our citizens and are rooted in good administration.

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