Board to deliberate on Makro appeal
MAGALIESSIG - The Makro appeal hearing has concluded and now both parties involved will anxiously await the decision by the township planning board.
Makro and the Magaliessig Action Forum (MAF) gave their closing statements on 18 November at City Life Church in Lonehill. Makro’s legal representative summed up the retail outlet’s presentation which included the research they had conducted which established the market need for a new Makro store in Magaliessig.
He also touched on traffic assessment studies which Makro had conducted which showed that traffic from the retailer’s delivery vehicles would be minimal. The cornerstone of the retail outlet’s argument for the building of the superstore in Magaliessig was that the site of the proposed store was not, in their opinion, within a residential area and that the nodal boundary needs to be re-assessed.
MAF’s legal representative started off his closing statements by saying that the forum would not entertain any discussions about the store as their stance was that they were squarely opposed to the development. The forum’s legal representative went on to say that while one of Makro’s key points was that the proposed store would adopt a new urban design that would help it blend into the area, the retailer’s own website described their stores as ‘warehouses’.
After the forum made their closing statements, Makro’s legal representative asked for 10 minutes more to make a few extra points before the hearing closed which elicited discontented groans from residents who were present at the meeting. At this point most residents decided to walk out of the venue. The meeting closed with the understanding that the unsuccessful party, whether it be the MAF or Makro will be responsible for settling the cost of the hearing and the township planning board’s fee. The board will now deliberate on the matter.
Read our previous story here:
Makro concludes their submission for appeal
