Public input is being invited as plans for a new shopping centre in Tinley Manor enter the environmental approval process.

The proposed Golden Triangle Shopping Centre, planned for municipal land near the Tinley Manor offramp, has entered its environmental impact assessment (EIA) and water use authorisation phases.

Developer Double Diamond Trading cc has appointed EnviroPro as the independent environmental assessment practitioner to compile a Basic Assessment Report (BAR). The development is proposed on a 5.8ha site. Although the land falls within the endangered KZN Coastal Belt Grasslands ecosystem, the EIA notes that it has primarily been used for sugarcane cultivation for decades.

Plans for the project include a 16 800m² retail centre, 14 000m² of parking and a 4 500m² access road, bringing the total development footprint to about 35 300m².

According to the EIA, construction will involve the removal of about 700m² of existing infrastructure and vegetation. The access road may also require the removal or infilling of more than 10m³ of material within a watercourse. New potable water and sewage infrastructure will also be installed.

Existing structures on the property, including a farmhouse, storage buildings and service roads, are located on a hilltop near the N2 northbound Exit 222. The EIA indicates that only limited cut-and-fill work will be required before construction.

Specialist studies covering freshwater ecology, hydrology, agricultural potential, archaeology and palaeontology are currently underway and will inform the final BAR.

Public participation forms a key part of the environmental authorisation process. Input from interested and affected parties (I&APs) ensures that “all potential environmental issues are considered within the context of the proposed development,” according to the assessment documentation.

EnviroPro project and administration assistant Demi Lamp said the public participation process is ongoing.

“This process is still in the preliminary stages and, therefore, no timeline is available at present,” she said.

Members of the public, businesses, landowners, government entities and other interested parties can contact

info@enviropro.co.za to register as I&APs. Registered stakeholders will receive updates, raise concerns and comment on the findings of the environmental assessments.

The Courier was not able to reach the developer at the time of publication.

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