SEDGEFIELD NEWS - Housing provision for some of Sedgefield's marginalised communities looks set to improve greatly if Knysna Municipality's plans for four new housing sites around Sedgefield come to fruition.

Adequate housing in the areas of Smutsville and Sizamile pose a particular problem as they are wedged into a small area between two dunes on Segdefield's eastern edge, isolating them from the rest of the town.

Having started out on opposite ends of the area in which they're located, the settlements grew over time and eventually "collided", with no more room to grow other than higher into the dunes. 

With no other provisions of housing, the communities opted to grow northward, up the Groenvallei Dune, despite the fact that the majority of the area was municipal ground.

But residents, desperate for a roof over their heads, rapidly began expanding the settlements on the Groenvallei Dune.

By March 2020 there were six settlements on the dune, with more than 900 families occupying the area. The municipality was eventually forced to provide ablution facilities and electricity to 600 approved households on the edges of the dune. At the time, municipal spokesperson Christopher Bezuidenhoudt said the provision of services are in line with the municipality's "obligation to provide basic services to the community".

There now seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel in the struggle for housing in the area. According to Bezuidenhoudt, Knysna Municipality has identified four sites for housing development scheduled to begin in 2023/4.

The sites will be spread around town, with one adjacent to the U-Save store at the entrance to Smutsville, one adjacent to the fire station, one in Brick Fields, and an infill area too.

Infill location is a real estate development site that exists within a mostly built-out market. Usually located within an urban area, infill locations look to fill the few vacant lots that exist between other developments in the area.

"The sites will be further divided. Two sites have been approved and there are 20 residential opportunities currently approved by the town planning tribunal," Bezuidenhoudt explained. "We are finalising the process of purchasing and obtaining environmental approval at the U-Save site and we will re-advertise the fire station site. We are making amendments to the layout plan to accommodate more housing opportunities."

A total of 186 housing opportunities will be created by the four sites, but as everything is still in the planning phase, there is no detailed timeline yet.

"Once plans have been approved we will apply for funding. Only after the approval stage can this process start," Bezuidenhoudt noted. "Construction can only begin in the 2023/4 financial year, due to compliance with the Environmental Management Act, with which our consultants are currently busy."

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