Discussions held about last green corridor

Update Video

GEORGE NEWS AND VIDEO - Emotions ran high as concerned and interested parties were invited onto the site of the proposed development on Erf 1297 at Kleinkrantz on Tuesday 22 October.

Participants, who were given the opportunity to voice their concerns, questioned the representatives of the developers, Waterleaf Properties.

The meeting was organised through Leap Enviro consultants, and was led by independent environmental practitioner Dr Gwen Theron. The gates to the erf were opened from 11:00 to 16:00, for people to meet the developers and view proposed plans.

Theron made it clear that the discussion would only focus on the environmental impact studies, and not the concerns about the tender process, which was one of the main concerns evident among some of those present.

While acknowledging that the site is sensitive, as it is the only remaining green corridor stretching from the coast to Island Lake, she emphasised that it was only the small eastern border of the property, which is within the urban edge, that is under application.

The lease was granted for 99 years, and it was suggested during the discussion that the notice of the tender applications was deliberately posted in a small local newspaper during the height of the Covid lockdown in June 2020, to keep knowledge of the tender extremely low profile.

Theron said, however, that she was not able to comment on any aspect outside of the environmental impact issues.

Minimal impact

The site has an abundance of milkwood trees. Theron said that all of the housing structures would be built around the milkwoods, leaving minimal impact on the corridor.

"There will be no pitched roofing in the structures, with the plan being to build into the landscape, with an entirely green development, using water harvesting and solar installations for electricity," she said.

The size of the development site is about 7.3ha, with the majority of the erf stretching to the west. When Theron was asked whether the developers planned to look at extending into the area beyond the urban edge, the reply was, "There are no plans at the moment, but it's difficult to predict what happens in the future".

This elicited an immediate response from the large crowd, but Theron assured them that a lengthy process would then need to take place.

"All the land used to be inside the urban edge, but that was amended by the municipality, and following pressure from SANParks, the urban edge was moved to include only the existing development section. So, for any further development, the entire urban edge would need to be moved again, meaning huge applications and processes."

VIDEO: Discussions held about last green corridor

Melissa Dalton, chairperson of Wilderness and Lakes Environmental Action Forum (Waleaf), was also present. They are a group of residents and interested and affected parties in the Wilderness Lakes area who take action towards ensuring the highest environmental and conservation outcomes in respect of all development and building activity occurring in the area.

Dalton said that the discussions were always going to be heated and invoke emotion, as a result of two very distinct camps – those pro-development, and those who are behind Waleaf, and against the over-development of land and unsustainable development. Dalton was however positive about the outcome.

"People all had their say, and this was specifically about the environmental impact assessment. Much of the heated stuff came out about people not recognising that the comments were about the impact, and not about the development itself."

Dalton was impressed with the way Theron had handled it - "She was very professional, she did a good job, with a lot of people pushing at things where they didn't understand the issues."

Socio-economic issues

Garden Route businessowner Massimo Mariotti feels strongly that the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) should never have looked at the development.

He would have liked to see a plan with GRDM working in conjunction with George Municipality, on how they will accommodate lower-income housing plans for the area.

"We have issues in Wilderness Heights, we have issues in Touwsranten, and we have a community that's been living here for years, in an area that they, themselves, have named Nature's Valley, which is around the water area, and referred to by a lot of people as the 'informal settlement'," says Mariotti.

The time frame for public comments on the development will be extended. Waleaf has a page dedicated to Erf 1297 on its website and has invited interested parties to follow the progress at waleaf.org.za.

Dr Gwen Theron addressing the crowd.