SEDGEFIELD NEWS - While the jury is still out as to which municipality holds sway over the Swartvlei Peninsula, several objections to the proposed development by the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) have already been lodged against it.
Residents of Sedgefield and surrounds were given their last chance to object to developments in their areas, by the end of August, following a notice by the GRDM, amid confusion as to whether it has the authority to develop the area, or whether the peninsula fell under the George Municipality.
Among those who objected are two geologists: Morris Viljoen, professor emeritus of geology at Wits University; and Roy Corrans of Geological Consultancy and Mineral Exploration Management Services.
In Viljoen’s objection – he is also a Sedgefield resident – he notes that the peninsula is part the Wilderness Embayment dune field in which four main dune cordons have been mapped. “The Swartvlei Peninsula is part of the Seaward dune cordon which extends from Wilderness to the Knysna Heads,” he says.
Citing the types of dunes found in the area and its susceptibility to erosion, Viljoen concludes that the low-lying unconsolidated sands of the Swartvlei Peninsula are highly vulnerable to both marine and estuarine water erosion. “This would be hugely exacerbated by any form of human impact. Given this situation it would be unwise for permission to be given for any form of development to take place on the Swartvlei Peninsula.”
'Previous objections all upheld'
Corrans has been a property owner on The Island in Sedgefield since 1982. “I participated in 1983/1984 with objecting Sedgefield community members and various other interested and affected parties when a similar proposal for development … was put forward by the Outeniqua Divisional Council, and was successfully blocked by a high court ruling made in 1988,” he says.
His objections support those of Viljoen. In addition, Corrans cites the legality of the proposals as unlawful due to the ruling made in the 1980s which were upheld in all subsequent objections by the Outeniqua Divisional Council. He argues that the lack of infrastructure would not support the proposals, and that the Swartvlei Peninsula is unsuitable for building development.
At the time of the confusion as to who could develop the property and what would be developed, the GRDM's advert stipulated that the municipality intends to develop properties on the Swartvlei Peninsula and enter into a long-term lease with a developer. GRDM spokesperson Marillia Veldkornet stated that deeds records confirm that the GRDM owns the properties.
“Meetings are planned with the B-municipalities who are disputing ownership of the said properties,” she said at the time.
Subsequently, a number of Sedgefield residents, including former Sedgefield mayor Mike Young, attended a meeting with GRDM mayor Memory Booysen in the first week of October to further discuss the matter. “He agreed that a lot of negotiation was needed before the municipality went ahead, but didn’t really allude to what was going to be developed. I heard that several hundred objections had been lodged at the time,” Young says, adding that Booysen also agreed that a public meeting should be arranged in Sedgefield, with prior notice in the local press.
Queries regarding the objection process and whether a decision on what is to be developed has been made, among others, was sent to the GRDM. At the time of going to print no response was received.
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