A big no-no, says residents
Residents who are against the proposed development say, in their opinion, local schools are already full to capacity.
A PROPOSED residential development in Glenanda South has residents up in arms and they are saying a firm “no”.
The property is located to the east of Kliprivier Drive, also bordering Kliprivier Drive and access will be gained to the site from Van Beek Avenue. The Kliprivier Drive and Van Beek Avenue intersection is located 100m to the west of the northern boundary and bordering the site on the north-western corner is Virgin Active fitness centre. To the west, on the other side of Kliprivier Drive, is the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve.
Residents object
The proposed residential development is planned with a density of 90 to 95 units per hectare on Portion 86 of the Farm Rietvlei 101 IR. The development will also entail an educational facility near the access to the site.
Residents who are against the proposed development say in their opinion, local schools are already full to capacity. Their suburb will be used as a throughway and all roads will become far busier. At this intersection of Rolene and Glen avenues, during peak periods, vehicles already battle to enter Van Beek Avenue and maintenance of roads is already poor and the road will not be able to handle increased volumes of traffic. On top of this, water and sanitation infrastructure is already under severe pressure. The area is in a green belt and they are worried Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve will be affected and flora and fauna will suffer.
A resident of Glenanda South, Yolanda Roberston, said she and the Glenanda Community Forum raised this issue last week and she made a call to Bokamoso Environmental Landscape Architects & Environmental Consultants for an extension for objections to be noted.
“The original objection date was February 5, and seeing as it wasn’t advertised in any local paper as far as I am aware and only a few homes received notice of the development, we asked for an extension,” said Yolanda.
There is a copy of the report at Glenanda Library, corner Vorster and Surmon avenues, Glenanda. Phone 011 682 1614 or it can be downloaded from https://b.bokamoso.net/index.php/projects/category/207-draft-basic-assessment-report
Factors to consider
According to the report, important factors need to be taken cognisance of, including the access road to the Rand Water reservoir. It is running across a section of the site which leads to dust pollution and degradation of the groundcover. There are illegal vagrants in the study area, which have caused some problems for the surrounding residents and illegal dumping and littering.
According to the ecologist, the vegetation considered least threatened, however, is within the critically endangered Klipriver Highveld Grassland according to the national list of threatened terrestrial ecosystems for South Africa, 2011 (Government Gazette no. 34809, 2011). No red or orange list plant species have been identified in the study area during the ecologist’s field survey. However, it was not the correct flowering time for some of these species.
The study site is considered moderately to highly sensitive, according to the ecologist. It also concluded that poor management of the site has caused an increase in illegal squatters, illegal dumping, littering and increased density and numbers of alien species.
Furthermore, the construction of Kliprivier Drive has separated Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve from the study site and consequently limited connectivity between them.
Closing date for objections
The proposed development is located close to urban amenities, including shopping centres, a gym, a nature reserve and other social infrastructures. It satisfies all of the requirements for higher densities in terms of the applicable town planning policy. There is a clear need for the proposed development on the site and there are no similar developments in the immediate vicinity of the site. The need for the development is driven not only by the locational advantages of the site but also by the unique product offered by the developer.
Your comments should be sent directly to Bokamoso, attention Mary-Lee van Zyl or Juanita de Beer (reception@bokamoso.net or fax 086 570 5659). The cut-off date for objections is February 16, 2018.
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