Hoedspruit Mall expected to open September 2023
Construction on the new Hoedspruit Mall which was authorised in January 2005, has started and phase 1 is set to open in September next year.
The mall has been critisised on social media with many residents saying it will not contribute to the economy of Hoedspruit as the only new shop will be Checkers. They also said it will take away from the special atmosphere Hoedspruit is known for. Residents commenting on the Hoedspruit Town Facebook page also questioned whether an environmental impact assessment was carried out. Meanwhile, the contractor of the mall has also changed hands.
The new contractor, Rob Hare from BK Construction told the Herald that they are now building phase 1. “The size of the mall is 15 000 x 9000 m², and we are looking to have it finished by September next year.
The construction has two phases and we are starting with phase 1,” he said. Janine Scorer, administrator of the Hoedspruit Town Facebook page posted an email from the former contractor, Pieter De Lange of Delron Consulting, stating the following:
“The entire development (i.e., the establishment of the Hoedspruit Extension 6 Township) was already authorised by the Limpopo Department of Economic Development, Environment, and Tourism (“LEDET”) by virtue of a Record of Decision (EA) issued as long ago as 31 January 2005.
“Therefore, Environmental Authorisation, as contemplated in Section 24 of the National Environmental Management Act, Act 107 of 1998 (“NEMA”), will not be required for the physical establishment of Phase 1 of the shopping centre (to be known as “The Hoedspruit Mall”) on the subject property.”
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He stated that Delron Consulting was not au fait with these historical events and will therefore not continue with a new application for environmental authorisation [as the mall was approved in 2005]. Hare told the Herald that they will also plant new trees to make up for trees that had to be removed and replanted due to construction. Herald contacted LEDET on numerous occasions on the authorisation issue but they were never available for comment and did not respond to our enquiries.
Mixed feelings about the new mall
On the Hoedspruit Town Facebook page, residents of Hoedspruit raised their opinions on the new Hoedspruit Mall due to open next year in September. Kerry van den Heever wrote: “Yesterday I saw the planned shops going into the new mall along with the road and overpass. The only “new” shop is Checkers. The rest are shops that already [are] in this town. So we [are] destroying the whole look and feel of Hoedspruit, and that whole bushy area for a Checkers.
“How does this make any sense to the people involved? So what’s going to happen to the empty “old” shops when the businesses move into the mall?” She later also wrote: “I am actually more concerned with the offramp and overpass on the R40 road … I think it’s an overkill, but that’s my opinion.” Dieter Schlehmeyer wrote: “I have a surprise for the developers. This mall is going to be built on the old refuge pit that was backfilled years ago. The same happened to the fire station. The cost escalated into millions extra to pile through the rubbish.
The area looked like the area north of the road to the base. All holes were filled in by garbage, old tyres, etc. And then covered,” he said. Richard Howie wrote: “I am so glad the mall is finally being built, there are many positives, no one seems to see. Firstly, it is a load smaller, most [people] think it’s going to be an ugly concrete structure, yet they have not seen the design. The HOA board is working very closely to ensure it’s not.
The two entrance roads will be widened to make access easy. It will bring a load of new shops besides only Checkers. “It will create employment and hopefully get the owner of the existing mall to upgrade the old, ugly place. Maybe we get cheaper prices, maybe more vacant shops will drive down the cost to rent so more people can rent them. So tired of seeing smaller operators being ripped and going bang.
“With regards to the big road [and] proposed crossing, well let’s see when and if it actually happens. I think it’s years from now. With regards to the lower-cost housing project, it’s long overdue. If done properly [it is dependent on sewerage and water upgrades] … in my mind, it is years away from becoming a reality. Why do most just want to concentrate on the perceived negatives,” he said.
