Maruleng’s anchor projects scrutinised

According to Justice Shipalana, spokesperson of MLM, all approvals for the mall have been obtained from the municipality and sector departments. “The developer is busy with the Hoedspruit Hospital and will move to the mall once concluded.” Lizamari Wolmarans, the chairperson of the Hoedspruit Chamber/ Sakekamer, said that residents have mixed feelings about the new mall.

“Many think it is not necessary for yet another shopping centre, especially if it will mean that tenants from other centres will simply move to the new location and cause the shopping centres they moved from to take on less than desired tenants. “But others are excited about the prospect of new retailers to see if prices will be more competitive than current retailers,” she said.

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The development of a new township, Berlin 39, has also been scrutinized. Shipalana told the Herald that the “integrated human settlement” has experienced significant delays due to challenges with the service provider. “The town planning process is however at an advanced stage. Objections on the initial environmental impact assessment (EIA) process were received which triggered a resubmission. The issue of water and sanitation remains a challenge and commitments are still required,” he added.

Wolmarans said after the initial scoping report was presented, the public participation was overwhelming. “Unfortunately, due to the number of valid objections from the community, the EIA period was made to lapse, and the process has to be restarted according to Ndani Projects and Skotane Developments,” she said.

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“We are aware that CoGHSTA is still very much involved and will restart the process at some point as there is a shortage of low to medium-cost housing in Hoedspruit.” She said on Friday, June 7 a new advertisement stating that they will start with the EIA was published but that no new scoping report or public participation to include the community in the proposed changes.

“The greatest concern is that our infrastructure is not able to accommodate a development of that scale at the moment,” she added. Stevens Maunye, a resident in Hoedspruit said the township will bring dignity to those who are currently staying at Plastic View. He said the mall will help with jobs and give residents access to more affordable consumer goods.

What is happening to R40 interchange?

Another contentious anchor project that is currently in the Maruleng Local Municipality (MLM) IDP budget for the 2024/25 financial year, is the R40 interchange that is planned for the town. Shipalana said the municipality is currently awaiting the land use application inclusive of environmental and access authorisation from the Limpopo Department of Economic Development and Tourism (Ledet) and the Road Agency Limpopo respectively.

The HCS’s Wolmarans said that the public participation process was very successful after Sanral presented their plan to the community. “An objection report, which included alternative design suggestions, was sent to Sanral whereby they provided feedback on all concerns raised by residents,” she told the Herald. “We again submitted a rebuttal report and requested another public participation session which was not indulged.”

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She said after landowners contacted the HCS to say that they had received requests for the acquisition of their land, they followed up with the project manager. He confirmed that the project was going ahead. “We asked when they intend to start the development, they said that as soon as all land acquisitions and other approvals are in place,” added Wolmarans.

HCS asked if any further public participation sessions would be held with the Hoedspruit community, to which Sanral said probably. She said the objection report and feedback are available on request from HCS. “Once again, the community is split on this development. “There is a definite need for a solution as traffic in town has reached a point where it is getting extremely busy and the flow is very stuttering,” she said.

Also read: Residents want new R40 interchange design

“A project of this scale will take no less than three years to complete which may very well mean major business interruptions for businesses that are located next to the R40 main road. “No one wants to see this happen, least of all the HCS, as this will undoubtedly affect many livelihoods. “It will be imperative for Sanral to have further discussions with the community and business owners to present their plan on how they will try and mitigate this during construction,” Wolmarans concluded.