Partnering for responsible growth in Umdloti

Tongaat Hulett’s planned Sibaya precinct development is going to take on the untouched green hills surrounding Umdloti, but promise to do so responsibly with the help of the Umdloti Urban Improvement Precinct (UIP).

Representatives from the Umhlanga and Umdloti UIPs and Tongaat Hulett met at Fairlight Beach House in Umdloti last week, to discuss the future growth of the beach town.

“Development is bound to happen, so we want to be proactive and partner with the developers (Tongaat Hulett) to make it beneficial for all parties,” said Umdloti UIP manager, Terry Rens.

Rens and the UIP are very involved in the conservation of the coastal forest and the beach in Umdloti, which is clear in the new Umdloti UIP logo, consisting of a leaf and a wave.

“The new logo illustrates that our vision is to become a boutique village, a clean and green jewel nestled between the forest and the sea for its residents and eco-tourists,” she said.

For this reason, Rens stressed the importance of utilizing the forest, which is on the border of the development, in a positive way.

“If we do not look after the forest, it will disintegrate, vandals will move in which is a security risk and alien plants will take over.”

Umhlanga UIP precinct manager, Dewet Geldenhuys agreed with Rens and added that the previously shunned Hawaan forest and lagoon in Umhlanga has now become a much loved and utilised feature.

“Three years ago, Breakers Hotel (next to the forest) had a fence around its property to block out the view of the forest. Now the wooden wall has been replaced with a glass wall and seated areas have been placed near the lagoon, looking out onto the forest,” he said.

Geldenhuys added that there are boardwalks, guided tours and bird watching activities and that duiker and other animals have returned to the forest since it has been looked after and that Umdloti forest could become similar.

Tongaat Hulett development executive, Sitembiso Mthembu emphasized that they do not want to be seen as the big bad wolf, as they want to develop in the interest of Umdloti’s natural features and its residents.

“We fully support the Umdloti UIP. It is important to have an organised and well managed communal structure and we look to develop responsibly and need to take ownership of our forest,” he said.

“The conservancy line has been defined and there is now a forest buffer (between the development and the forest),” said Mthembu.

He added that the development, which will consist of 2325 residential units, 620 hotel rooms and office parks, will have many green spaces, such as roof top gardens, similar to the Zimbali estate style.

One of the big concerns for the residents however is the traffic control of the influx of people that the 750 hectare development will bring.

Geldenhuys stressed that it is important to do a full traffic assessment and to ensure there is provision for parking.

Mthembu agreed that extra parking is needed and that the correct way to go about it will have to be worked out, although he added that they would like to limit vehicles from entering the town.

“We are considering pedestrian elements such as footpaths from the development to the beach as well as people movers or veniculars,” he said.

All in all the morning ended on a positive note, as the big bad wolf developer showed its gentle and understanding side, which comforted the Umdloti UIP, leaving hope for a happy ending.