The George Municipality is currently gathering information of all such resources and is inviting the public to participate in ensuring that the inventory is as inclusive as possible.
The process is being driven by the Town Planning Directorate. According to the deputy director, Stiaan Carstens, local authorities are bound by legislation to have a heritage resources list. They already have a lot of information. Terrain inspections were done of sites and buildings that are to be listed. GPS coordinates will be included in the inventory.
According to Senior Spatial Planner Carel Venter, such an inventory will aid in removing conflict between developers and the municipality. "It will assist the municipality, developers and the public to identify heritage resources before a development is proposed, and implement appropriate mitigation measures. It will also create public awareness of important heritage sites in George," said Venter.
"The municipality intends to promote good management of the heritage sites to enable and encourage communities to nurture and conserve their legacy so that it may be bequeathed to future generations."
The heritage resources are also to be graded according to significance.
Available to all
Carstens said the inventory will be available to anyone to use. "If someone wants to buy a property and wants to know if it has heritage value, it can be looked up."
The assistance of all residents and organisations is requested to bring any possible heritage resource to the attention of the municipality. To do that, you have to complete a form that is available from the fifth floor of the municipality or can be downloaded from the municipal website, www.george.org.za.
Venter says for inclusion in the current process and inventory, all information must reach the municipality by 30 November. "However, it is an ongoing process and identification of resources should continue. The inventory will be updated according-ly."
Matrix Urban Designers and Architects are assisting in the process and are advising the municipality. Once the inventory has been completed, a public meeting will be held to introduce it to the public and ask for comment.
What is to be listed
According to the SA Heritage Resources Act, resources "which are of cultural significance or other special value for the present community and for future gene-rations" are considered part of our heritage. This includes the following:
- places, buildings, structures and equipment;
- places to which oral traditions are attached;
- historical settlements and townscapes;
- landscapes and natural features;
- geological, archaeological and palaeontological sites;
- graves and burial grounds;
- sites of significance relating to the history of slavery;
- movable objects such as archaeologi-cal and palaeontological objects, meteorites, military objects, objects of deco-rative or fine art, objects of scientific or technological interest, books, records, do-cuments, photographs, film or video material and sound recordings.
