The development, which proposes to construct residential units as well as commercial and municipal facilities in a tract of relatively untouched land surrounding Sizwe Hospital, has met with vociferous community opposition. Residents of nearby suburbs have raised concerns about services, traffic impact, health risks and damage to heritage – and one major worry is damage to sensitive ecosystems.
In a presentation to residents of Rand Aid Association’s retirement villages, Lizelle Gregory of Bokamoso Environmental (responsible for the environmental impact assessment) assured community members that close consultation with fauna and flora, soil and wetland specialists (among others) meant ecological considerations heavily influenced development plans.
But Rand Aid residents, members of Rietfontein Heritage Action Project and other community members continue to ring the ecological alarm.
“In Bokamoso’s recent presentation… the natural habitat, the wildlife within the Sizwe/Linksfield area and plans and strategies to protect the existing wildlife… did not feature prominently,” said Rand Aid resident and environmentalist Ria Milburn.
According to Milburn, the site’s indigenous Bankenveld grassland is under threat, and like the rest of Gauteng’s grasslands, on which 70 percent of birds species and 20 percent of mammals are dependent, is being transformed at an alarming rate. Bankenveld grassland has a diverse mix of wild flowers and grasses such as red grass and thatch grass with most of the biodiversity associated with a grassland ecosystem. It is a transitional area between the cold Highveld grassland and the Bushveld savanna. The site is home to monkeys, mongoose, genets, owls (including the endangered African grass owl), eagles and many more species, and, according to Colette Hinton of the Rietfontein Heritage Action Project, about 500 plant species.
Moreover, Bankenfeld grassland is vital to controlling flooding in the Jukskei River, protecting the safety of Alexandra residents downstream. Bokamoso assured Rand Aid residents that the development incorporates a green space bordering the river to protect local wetland and allow for flooding. According to Gregory, environmental and water management legislation compliance is strictly enforced by the green and blue ‘scorpions’ – but residents remain unconvinced.
“The Jukskei is heavily compromised by ad hoc housing, commercial developments and sewage seeping into the storm water system,” said Hinton, adding that the river is Johannesburg’s largest north-flowing river which joins other rivers before reaching the Indian Ocean.
Convinced that the environmental impact has been considered without adequate reference to upcoming developments in Huddle Park and Modderfontein, residents continue to insist that the high-density residential and commercial Linksfield development can only spell environmental disaster.
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