There is a lot of talk and speculation about the proposed development of integrated housing at the Brickvale property in Tarlton by KARP Consulting.
According to Amanda de Lange, Freedom Front Plus media spokesperson and councillor in Mogale City, identifying a suitable area in Tarlton that is large enough to sustain such a high-impact development has been ongoing for years because most of the ground formation in Tarlton is extremely dolomitic. This limits the development possibilities to the extent that most of the properties are suitable for agricultural development only.
“It is, however, unacceptable and irresponsible of KARP and Mogale City to cart in hundreds of people from surrounding settlements with buses for a public participation meeting, raising their hopes again with premature promises whilst the basic EIAs to determine the suitability of the ground formation have not been done yet. This is rather cruel,” says De Lange.
Developers and Council should be more responsible and sensitive to the desperate situation residents find themselves in before involving them in processes that should take place only after the Environmental Impact Studies (EIAs) have been done and definitive possibilities are on the table.
“The squatters might very well perceive negative results as hostility from residents neighbouring the Brickvale property,” says De Lange.
A number of concerns and questions were raised at the public participation meeting held at the beginning of October. At some point the meeting was conducted in an African language, which excluded a number of attendees as they could not follow the proceedings or take part in the discussions.
Residents neighbouring the Brickvale property have raised their concerns about the ramifications when cramming thousands of households and a complete city infrastructure into the middle of agricultural smallholdings.
De Lange mentions that the residents raised the question whether Mogale City and KARP Developers were in a joint venture for this proposed development. When she posed the question to the steering committee that includes KARP Developers, Mogale City, Rural Development and other concerned parties, KARP Developers maintained that there was no partnership between them for the intended development, even though KARP and the property owner made proposals and had business discussions with the Mayor of Mogale City.
