Residents concerned about St Winifreds development

St Winifreds residents have raised concerns about a proposal to develop erf 970 located at 21 Impala Road.

A proposal has been made to erect 202 dwellings of 60 square metres each on the site. The development will be phased in, driven by market forces.

Impala Park resident, Dudley Woollett is concerned about the visual, traffic and noise impact it will have on the suburb.

“A development of this nature will have an adverse effect on the valuations of the properties in the area,” he said. “The area has a quiet residential nature. This development will detract from the atmosphere of a quiet residential area and future sales of units in Impala Park will be compromised.

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The developer states that to the South of the site there is zoning which allows multi-unit, high density development and this is similar to what is being proposed. At Impala Park Retirement Village there are 56 single storey multi-unit dwellings and at the neighbouring Silky Oaks complex there are eight single storey multi-units.

One cannot compare what is envisaged as 202 units of a high density development to the existing developments of Impala Park and Silky Oaks.

The property under discussion was previously owned by Impala Park. It was envisaged that the site would be developed in line with the current dwellings as and when required.

This is the understanding of the residents and if a development of a similar nature is proposed for the site, I don’t think there would be any opposition to it. If one looks at the surrounding area, one will find no property where high density housing, as envisaged in the proposal, has been constructed.”

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Woollett also questioned the environmental impact, and safety and security concerns for the neighbourhood should the development be allowed.

Silky Oaks resident, Neil Gordon-Cumming also believes the development will have an adverse effect on neighbouring property values. “There is a lot of game on that property, such as blue duiker and monkeys. It is basically a nature reserve area.

What will happen to it once the development goes ahead? We need to stop the proposal to develop the area. I will sell my property immediately if it goes ahead.”

Residents also questioned why they were only informed of the proposal on Monday, 4 September via a registered letter when the due date for objections is Monday, 11 September.

Woollett and Gordon-Cumming fear the development is low-cost housing, which ward 97 councillor, Andre Beetge was adamant is not the case.

“Developers are often criticised for not realising the southern potential but they instead concentrate on the northern suburbs. Developing and legally populating areas that would otherwise (if they remain vacant) raise safety and security concerns should be a priority, as it lowers the risk of land invasion and the formation of informal settlements on areas that are essentially suitable for human settlement,” said Cllr Beetge.

“It is driven by market demand and increases the rates base, as opposed to low cost housing which falls under the rates and paid services threshold.

Residents who feel they have sufficient grounds to oppose the zoning application should exercise their right and table their objection for consideration to the town planning committee.”

Members of the public can lodge comments by hand to the Regional co-ordinator, Southern region, Land Use Management Branch, Sizakala Centre, 9 Gracedale Road or via email to murial.machi@durban.gov.za by Monday, 11 September.