The proposed development of a small boat harbour in the Piesang River Estuary in Plettenberg Bay remains a contentious issue. A group of concerned residents opposed to the development in its current format have formalised their efforts under the auspices of The Save Plett Alliance and appointed legal representation.
The Save Plett Alliance was jointly initiated by the Plett Ratepayers’ Association and property owners in the affected area. The services of Edward Nathan Sonnenbergs law firm have been retained with the litigation team being led by Cecil Gelbart, South Africa’s 2013 Litigation Lawyer of the Year.
According to information provided by the Save Plett Alliance, the development will cover 87 000m² and have 2 148 parking bays (644 basement and 1 504 open bays). They compared this to the Market Square Shopping Centre in Beacon Street, Plett’s only mall, that has 14 500 m² of retail space and 582 parking bays. The proposed development will by these standards cover an area six times the size of Market Square and include eight residential buildings ranging in height from three to seven floors, penthouses, offices and commercial space, a 110-room 5-star hotel, 17 mansions along Central Beach, retail space, a plaza, a yacht club and chokka harbour, as well as provision for light industry.
The Save Plett Alliance indicated that due to the Bitou Council's failure to conduct an investigation of Western Cape Marina Investments prior to signing a contract with them, it is unknown who the current shareholders are or any other definitive details regarding their competence to follow through with such a development.
The council has been criticised for its perceived lack of action with respect to the small boat harbour proposal and for not revealing its stance on the matter. Executive mayor Memory Booysen addressed these concerns in a letter distributed on December 23.
He clarified that the current council is bound by a contract with the developer, Western Cape Marina Investments, which is open-ended with no time limitation that it inherited from a previous council.
As such, the council required the developer to either proceed with the development process or abandon it altogether. "This was done because if the status quo remained there could be no upgrading of any of the facilities at Central Beach or on any of the other land involved," explained Booysen.
He said that the developer had chosen to proceed with the development process and that the council had rigorously followed the stipulated procedures of the application process and would continue to do so.
"We will not comment on the merits or otherwise of the proposed project before having received the final proposal and carefully evaluated it. To do otherwise would indicate bias and jeopardise the final decision of council. This could result in litigation with serious financial implications for Bitou. Council’s final decision will take into account all relevant factors including all concerns and issues raised by the community and will be made in the best interests of Bitou," concluded Booysen.
In 1998 the possibility of creating a small boat harbour was first placed on the table. At that time there was a large fleet of fishing boats that anchored regularly just off Central Beach that were interfering with the tourist industry, and as such the town council called for proposals. The fleet of fishing boats no longer exists.
In June 2013 locals opposed to the development organised a protest on Central Beach against the proposed development by spelling a human NO on the sand. However, with the promise of job creation to stimulate the local economy there are a reasonable number of people in support of the development.
The Save Plett Alliance asked those in favour of the development to consider that whilst jobs will be created for the period of construction, many of the jobs are unlikely to be filled by locals.
They speculate that the Central Beach area will be a construction site for at least four years, during which Plett's tourism industry will grind to a halt with a number of jobs being lost as a result.
There is concern that the project will remain unfinished due to a potential lack of funds or an absence of tourists should conditions change, leaving Plett with an unfinished concrete carcass in place of one of the current primary tourist destinations.
Whilst many people are of the opinion that it seems impossible for this scheme to be financially viable and as such do not feel compelled to oppose it, the Save Plett Alliance maintain that if that was the case, the developer would not continue to spend money on consultants to create 2 000-page documents with detailed plans and as such continue to seek support for their cause.
According to the alliance, once the final scoping report is accepted by the environmental authorities, the Environmental Impact Assessment studies should begin.
Those who wish to play an active role in the decision-making process with regards to the future of this development should read at least the executive summary of the Final Scoping Report, which was concluded in November 2013, to become better acquainted with the facts.The report can be obtained by request from Mike Cohen, the environmental assessment practitioner via email: steenbok@aerosat.co.za.
Comments and objections should be directed to the competent authority, Shireen Pullen of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning by telephone on 044 805 8606; Fax to 044 874 2423; or email: shireen.pullen@westerncape.gov.za no later than Friday, January 17.
This image, circulated by the Save Plett Alliance, has super-imposed a scale-model, created by a graphic renderer, of the proposed development over the original picture so as to inform the public of the scale in the absence of aesthetic details.
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