WHILE the City’s proposed waterfront development may take a while to implement in phases, a number of issues need to be considered in the planning phase.
That was the message from the public at an uMhlathuze Ward 2 open meeting held at the Richards Bay Civic Centre this week.
The response was to a presentation by officials from the City Development department explaining the waterfront land use concept, which intends to make optimum use of municipal properties bordering the Bay’s marine environment.
Five distinct precincts are proposed:
*Mzingazi Canal (‘Casino site’, north of the Mzingazi Canal above the Steel Bridge)
*Central Waterfront (north of the Mzingazi Canal, below the Steel Bridge to the Zululand Yacht Club, including the Blind Canal)
*Waterfront Park (east of the Blind Canal to Alkantstrand, including the Bay Hall area and Pelican Island)
*Alkantstrand Beach
*Newark Beach.
The proposed developments have many implications for current users of waterfront properties, including the boat and yacht clubs, Sea Scouts, Zululand Kayak Club, NSRI and others.
‘The municipality will not have the money to compensate these organisations for the value of the assets they have built and improvements they have made.
‘One needs also to be careful of fragmenting the various waterfront developments,’ warned local planning specialist, Frans van der Walt.
‘It needs a global plan for issues such as infrastructure.
‘If a potential investor or developer has to provide the infrastructure for basic services in isolation from the other precincts, this could make the investment cost prohibitive.
‘There is also the long and costly EIA process. Would there be a single EIA, or five or six separate ones at developers’ cost?
‘Another prime consideration is climate change leading to rising sea levels and erosion of waterfront land, which again could have serious consequences for development.’
Lack of interaction between planners and the uMhlathuze Community Tourism Organisation was also highlighted.
Other matters
Feedback on other issues was also given by Ward 2 Councillor, Alen Viljoen, including his satisfaction with the fact that Cogta is undertaking an investigation of the City’s management.
‘As a ward, this is something we have urged for quite some time.
‘We met twice with Cogta, starting way back in early 2012, stating concerns including political interference, poor service delivery, tender irregularities and lack of communication.’
Cllr Viljoen said there had been a vast improvement in the provision of water, with fewer breakdowns due to burst pipes.
He also praised infrastructure and technical services staff for the speedy work done in upgrading North Central Arterial between the CBD and Brackenham.
