Final EIA report released

Residents have until March 8 to comment on the final Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the Linksfield Development.

The report is available at the Linksfield Nursery, situated on the corner of Linksfield Road and Club Street.

Alternatively, the report is available on www.bokamoso.biz

Comments regarding the development can be submitted to the Gauteng Department of Agricultural and Rural Development (GDARD) for the attention of Mr Marc Leroy.

Submissions can be e-mailed to Marc.leroy@gauteng.gov.za and cc’d to Lizelleg@mweb.co.za

Since its release, plans for the establishment of an inclusive, mixed-use development alongside the N3 highway, between the Modderfontein and Linksfield road off ramps has attracted controversy from residents.

One of the concerns of residents was the publication of the tender for the development.

“The tender was originally gazetted on December 9, 2011 and requested a compulsory briefing to be held four days later on December 13, 2011. Tenders had to be submitted by January 6, 2012,” said Mr Neil Garden.

“This decision to advertise the tender for a project of this magnitude during December, a period when most businesses are closed and professionals are on holiday, is bizarre and begs closer scrutiny,” he said.

According to Mr Garden, the tender was subsequently awarded to a dormant company for R80-million with “no development track record whose shareholders have not been disclosed to date”.

The application was for the establishment of eight townships which will be called Sunningdale extensions 13 to 20.

“This is a development of gigantic proportions, with the size of the property to be developed being some 195 hectares,” Mr Garden said.

Some 8 400 residential units will be built on the property.

This equates to a density of 160 units per hectare to accommodate a residential population of about 28 000.

The site will also include 800 000 square meters of commercial development and it is claimed some 25 000 permanent employment opportunities will be created.

“An issue which immediately comes to mind is the question whether financial institutions will be comfortable with providing bond finance for an untested, inclusive residential housing concept, where the affordable rental component will be 50 percent and the remainder of the development will include flats and penthouse apartments which will be offered for sale?,” said Mr Garden.

Another concern for residents is the potential negative impact a development of this scale will have on future traffic volumes.

“Residents in the area presently using Club Street, Modderfontein Road, George Avenue and Linksfield Avenue are already experiencing traffic congestion on these service roads at peak hours.

“Against this background, imagine up to an additional 28 000 residents from the new Sunningdale residential development leaving each morning for their place of work or school, while another 25 000 people simultaneously arrive to work in the businesses to be accommodated in the new commercial and business extensions. Then think of the same chaotic traffic congestion in the evening,” Mr Garden said.

Taking into account the new Sunningdale development, Mr Garden said residents should also take into account plans for the proposed Huddle Park Mixed Use development which will be situated two kilometres south west of the site.

“In addition there is also the plan by a Chinese property developer to exploit the Modderfontein property, in the east, five kilometres away, where Modderfontein Road has been identified as a common key spinal thoroughfare,” Mr Garden said.

Also of concern for residents is the installation of energy, water and sanitation services to serve a development.

“The public is fully aware of the serious energy and water shortages facing Gauteng, as well as the poor maintenance of water and sanitation infrastructure,” Mr Garden said.

“The public participation process in this project is confusing for interested and affected parties because the township planning process is being allowed to run parallel with the EIA process. Changes made to the road network since the final scoping report, is just one example that the footprint of the project has not yet been firmly fixed,” he added.

Mr Garden believes that there is a risk, if all of the activities subject to environmental authorisation are not identified during the EIA process, elements of the project will not be properly authorised.

“Considering the vast range of potential environmental issues connected to a development of this size, both the evaluation of the risks and impacts, and the cause and effect relationships is both convoluted and difficult for the average affected person to deal with,” Mr Garden said.

He added that every effort should be made during the public participation process to reach a consensus.

“There is also a conflict of interest with the adjudication process because the applicant is the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements, and the ‘competent authority’ is the GDARD who, based on the outcome of an EIA, will either grant or refuse the requested environmental authorisation,” Mr Garden said.

The draft EIA report states GDARD indicated in its approval of the Scoping Report and Plan of Study for the EIA report that it regards the preliminary issues raised as serious.

GDARD also stated that the EIA report will also be subjected to a peer review by suitably qualified specialists to be nominated by GDARD.

“The peer review step is a responsible decision by GDARD but in order for the public to make a judgement about the credibility of the entire adjudication process, the names of the qualified specialists to be nominated to carry out the independent peer review need to be published,” Mr Garden said.

The NEWS forwarded a copy of the concerns raised to Ms Juanita De Beer from Bokamoso for comment on January 27.

Comment was requested by January 30.

At the time of going to print on February 23, no comment was received.