Proposed development causes concern
Msukaligwa spokesman Mr Mandla Zwane confirmed that the proposed development site was currently zoned as agricultural land and added that the municipality did not have jurisdiction over agricultural land.
A new residential township (Bahlangene Extension) consisting of about 2 400 erven, two schools, two business centres, two community facilities and a public open space has been proposed by Vipcon Pty Ltd, Property Developers & Project Managers.
If approved, the proposed development will be located to the south of Ermelo on the remaining extent of Portion 2 of the farm Langverwacht 293. It will be accessed from the N11, Ermelo-Amersfoort road, 2.5km south of the established Extensions 32 and 33.
This is according to information contained in a document made available to interested and affected parties (IAPs, inviting them to participate in the application process.
An advertisement appeared in the Highvelder of 6 December stating that an application for a basic assessment process regarding the proposed project had been submitted to the department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism (DEDET).
The advertisement called on persons wishing to be registered as IAPs to do so within 30 days of the publication date.
“This I find to be totally unacceptable as most people are away on holiday at that time of the year. The developers knew full well that the number of people seeing the advert would be significantly less than at any other time of the year. I feel this was an attempt to curtail the possible number of objections,” said a member of an agricultural organisation, who at this stage wishes to remain anonymous.
He pointed out that the property in question was currently zoned as agricultural land, therefore residential development could not be allowed unless the property was re-zoned.
Msukaligwa spokesman Mr Mandla Zwane confirmed that the proposed development site was currently zoned as agricultural land and added that the municipality did not have jurisdiction over agricultural land.
In answer to a question in this regard he said in a statement:
“The land in question is zoned agricultural and it is therefore the jurisdiction of the Mpumalanga Provincial Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Land Administration (DARDLA) as well as the National Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to determine the outcome of the application. However, this does not exempt the applicant from submitting the application to the Municipality in order to determine if the subject land is situated within the Ermelo Urban Edge in terms of the Spatial Development Framework, and in this case it falls outside of the Town’s Planning Area.”
According to the statement dated 13 January, no application with regard to the proposed development had yet been made to the municipality concerning the proposed development.
Responding to concerns about the implementation of infrastructure and the inevitable burden the development will place on the existing water and electricity supply, Mr Zwane said that the applicants, Vipcon, would be held responsible for implementing and maintaining the infrastructure.
“Of equal concern is the fact that the proposed development is near a wetland area and clarity needs to be obtained as to what effect the development will have on our ever-diminishing wetlands,” said the resident. Wandima Environmental Services have been appointed to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the area and to arrange public participation meetings. The first of these meetings has been scheduled for February.
