THE Ivungu River Conservancy has asked Hibiscus Coast Municipality to keep it informed about a controversial rezoning application in Uvongo.
It has requested to be registered as an interested and affected party regarding the rezoning application of Erf 1959 in Alamein Road, Uvongo, from agricultural to split light commercial/conservation.
For more than 18 months, owners of neighbouring properties have complained to Hibiscus Coast Municipality about the alleged illegal use of this Uvongo property. It is zoned for agriculture/residential but neighbours claim it is being used as an industrial property and that a construction company is operating its enterprise from there.
Neighbours are complaining about the construction vehicles parked on the property, about the damage the heavy vehicles are doing to surrounding roads, about the noise and the disruption and about the fact that the industrial activity is having a negative effect on the value of their properties.
The neighbours have also expressed concern about the pollution of wetlands in the area caused by diesel and oil spills on the property in contention. The municipality has promised to investigate this matter. The Ivungu Conservancy has pointed out to the municipality that the light commercial application could well lead to diesel spills and gravel polluting the Ivungu River, as it was known the applicant intended to park and service diesel trucks and machinery on the site.
When they first complained about the misuse of the property, residents of the area were told by the municipality that the owner had been granted time to find alternate accommodation for his business, after which legal action would be taken. This period of grace expired on March 31 this year but the company is still operating from the property. Neighbours have now been told about the rezoning application and that the owner had a right to submit it. However, they believe the construction company should not be allowed to operate from the agricultural property until the application has been processed and the matter finalised.
The Ivungu Conservancy has pointed out that rezoning from agricultural to any other use required an application to be made to the National Department of Agriculture in terms of Act 70 of 1970, the subdivision and change of use act governing all agricultural land.
