Major renewal plans could transform Umhlali and Shakaskraal

Plans to transform Umhlali and Shakaskraal village into bustling, vibrant centres of business activity are on the cards.

The urban regeneration plan aimed at upgrading the R102 development corridor was commissioned by KwaDukuza municipality and prepared by town planner Tony Markewicz, with the aim of unlocking the value of these two areas.

Presenting the plan at the Umhlali library last Tuesday, Markewicz of Markewicz Redman Partnership said the aim was also to foster a genuine connection between the community and the towns.

“The urban renewal strategy has attempted to provide the institutional, financial, economic and spatial platform to integrate all of the various precincts of the towns they serve with their respective high street spines,” said Markewicz.

Although Umhlali and Shakaskraal were different in function and character, both operated as central business or service centres for larger nodes as part of the R102 development corridor.

Key challenges include uncontrolled and ad-hoc incremental development, deteriorating ‘sense of place’ and identity and traffic congestion.

“Neither the village of Umhlali nor the town of Shakaskraal have a locally based and empowered champion who directly represents the interests of the communities who live or do business in them. Burdened infrastructure capacity is severely constrained and not within the direct control of KDM to address.”

Both centres suffer from congestion and differing degrees of pedestrian and traffic conflict brought about by inadequate demarcation of routes for each of the traffic types and the increasing volumes accompanying development in the region.

Another key issue was absentee landlords who were not maintaining or managing the large tracts of land they owned.

Transnet owned the old railway servitudes and housing associated with the Umhlali station which was severely neglected.

The KZN Department of Transport was not adequately maintaining the R102, currently operating as a local access road particularly within Shakaskraal.

“Capacity of the Umhlali police station to service a large and expansive geographic area appears to be out of sync with the growth and development that has occurred in the study area,” he added.

For future capital investment in the areas, Markewicz said it was important for KDM to focus on redressing backlogs in infrastructure and service delivery while at the same time establishing a platform for new growth and delivery.

“In delivering services for which it is responsible KDM will build trust in the regeneration process, enable businesses and community to operate more efficiently and more importantly lead and manage regeneration by example. Expecting businesses and communities to become part of the solution without performance by KDM is unrealistic.”

Proposals include improving road access around Umhlali school to prevent conflict between school and other traffic and upgrading Umhlali’s ‘high street’ to have tourism appeal.

It was recommended that KDM set up a task team to drive the R102 corridor plan and create important asset and investment areas that can deliver socio-economic investment for the people of KwaDukuza.