FRUSTRATIONS are on the rise as Netford Road residents maintain their stance against the proposed whale watching viewpoint by Sodurba Tourism in partnership with the ward 66 office.
The initiative to build and establish whale watching view decks is a joint project by ward 66 Councillor, JP Prinsloo, Sodurba Tourism and WildOceans in an effort to promote the KZN coast. One of such has already been built at Finnemore Place, with plans to expand the project onto Airlie and Netford roads.
In a thread of emails recently sent to the SUN, a number of residents have expressed their disapproval of the project and signing a petition which was handed over to Prinsloo’s office. Netford Road residents have previously objected to the proposed infrastructure in their road as published in the SUN. Their objections stem from concerns that any infrastructure such as a platform or benches will be abused and vandalised, promote vagrancy, and that there is no financial benefit for residents to be derived from the project. There is also the rejection that the argument that because the land belongs to council, it is entitled to do with it as it pleases. residents have further expressed that they find it unacceptable that no Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted, which would have scrutinised their concerns.
READ: Whale watching view ‘blocked’ by concerned residents
“There is another statement that I think needs to be addressed. It was Prinsloo’s closing statement in the same article (Whale watching view blocked, 13 September 2019) that this development would ultimately increase the property values of the houses in the road. There are a couple of reasons why this statement is clearly not based on fact but rather a pie in the sky kind of desperate attempt to save the sinking ship. The first is that the deck is going to attract more people at all times of day and night. The vast majority of which will not be whale watchers. This influx of people will shatter the peace and quiet we currently enjoy in Netford Road.
“Secondly the deck and benches will obscure the view of the sea that the residents of 15 Netford Road have. The house is below road level so any construction will be in direct line of sight. A deck is not a thing of beauty but rather a utility. It serves to elevate or extend ones access to otherwise inaccessible areas. The proposed deck is at ground level which is already accessible to everyone! So how is this going to be any benefit?
READ: The issues of whale watching amenities on the Bluff [LETTER]
“Further, grass will not grow under the deck. We will have 18 square metres of soft sand underneath with the odd weed growing here and there. Together with an accumulation of litter that will be difficult or impossible to remove. Wind blown plastics will find their way into the most inaccessible places. How can this ever be something that will increase properly values in the area? We have been committed to ensuring the cleanliness and upkeep of this view site without additional assistance for 20 years. We’re not stopping anyone from coming to watch whales, we just don’t want to disrupt the peace of this beautiful neighbourhood,” said concerned resident, Paul Hansen.
Sodurba Tourism chairperson, Helga du Preez said that the organisation has two main objectives as a community tourism organisation (CTO), namely to play a more effective role in the tourism industry and interact with the municipality and other role players. The second is to identify potential tourism resources and attractions within the area, publicising and marketing them and the area as a prime tourist destination and place in which to do business or to reside.
READ: Bluff achieves international whale heritage site status
“Sodurba’s aim is to promote sustainable tourism in South Durban. We recently launched our trademarked whale watching route to fulfil the stringent requirements in becoming an international whale heritage site. One of the primary objectives of the route is to develop and uphold responsible tourism through the establishment of educational projects informing and educating our local children and surrounding community to protect our planet and our cetaceans. A localised tourism strategy was put in place to promote conservation and responsible tourism, and tourism projects where developed to promote business and provide employment opportunities.
“This whale heritage site award is a great achievement for the CTO, Durban and South Africa’s Tourism. It is after all the only one on the African continent! With this in mind the CTO identified potential view sites on municipal owned land and proposed these sites to Durban Tourism and our ward councillor who has been a champion in uplifting the Suburb and as an independent tourism body we support his initiatives. Whether these proposed sites are suitable for investment or not is a decision that lies solely with the Municipality, as the rightful owner. The CTO has no authority in this regard. The CTO has no Political Affiliation whatsoever to any political party,” said du Preez.
Ward 66 councillor, JP Prinsloo’s response:
“A petition was received by my office in September 2019. My office engaged with a Bluff Ratepayers Association (BRA) representative to obtain the contact information of the seven people (page 2) that did not have any contact details listed in the petition. Unfortunately we never received this information from the BRA. The office contacted the remaining signatures to verify whether the information on the document was correct and ensure that the listed signatory actually signed the petition. We made every attempt to contact each person on the list. We never claimed to have reached every single person and as a result lead to the discrepancies you described,” said Prinsloo.
A meeting was conducted with City Architecture Department to discuss issues raised in the petition on 12 September 2019. Based on the discussions we had with the city the following was proposed to address each of these concerns:
- EIA – The construction of a flat platform made from recycled material and the installation of benches and signage would not have triggered an EAI to be completed. The environmental impact would be minimal and would not meet the threshold to trigger and EIA. If you would require something in writing to state this fact I am more than willing to ask the city to do so.
- Traffic – It was proposed that Netford road should be turned into a one-way access road. This would address traffic concerns raised by residents as well as other traffic related congestion/usage reported previously.
- Anti-social activities – Identify and finalise adopt-a-spot applications. The applicant would be responsible for providing additional services on top of the services the city currently provides. This would include litter removal and general maintenance. There would also be plans to partner with community organisations to assist with loitering and any other associated activities.
- Financial benefit – The construction of the view deck will inevitably lead to investment into the immediate area surrounding the view decks and the greater Bluff area. Increased tourism numbers will also directly benefit businesses within the Crossways precinct. More people will spend money at these businesses and the business would in turn reinvest into the entire precinct.
- Finnemore viewing deck – The construction of the staircase and the deck along Finnemore Place was completed a year and a half before the Economic Development Department embarked on the current whale watching view deck projects. Littering, loitering and illegal parking is currently taking place due to poor planning on behalf of the department. Steps and interventions are being put in place to address these concerns.
During November 2019 to December 2019, whale time officers were tasked by the WildTrust to conduct an educational door-to-door campaign along Netford road and Marine Dive. The purpose of these engagements were to inform people about the whale heritage route as well as to discuss the proposed whale viewing decks.
Another meeting was requested by the residents of Netford Road on 18 January 2020, where 10 Netford Road and Marine Drive residents, two whale time guides from WildOceans and three Sodurba members attended the meeting. According to Prinsloo, issues raised previously, with the inclusion of security and noise concerns were discussed and resolutions were taken.
“The next step is to conduct another public meeting. I will request that the city be present at the meeting to address your concerns directly. An updated project design will be presented to the community as part of the engagement. I would like to urge everyone listed in the email to attend the public meeting. My office will distribute notices of the meeting to each house along Netford Road as well as send out an email with the details of the meeting.
“Our main goal is to drive overall investment (infrastructure and capital spend) into the area through private and public partnerships, starting with the whale view deck. The deck forms one part of the overall strategy that will lead to the rejuvenation of the entire Crossways area. Through this entire process we will remain fully committed in ensuring that issues raised by each of you are discussed, debated and incorporate into the second draft of the project design,” concluded Prinsloo.
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