Ugu and RNM anger Hibberdene developer
The Developers Forum and the South Coast Chamber of Commerce said the owner is desperate and has made himself very unpopular with local government officials who ignore his pleas.
One of the developers of the Golden Land Estate in Hibberdene, Gerry Vermeulen, said he has suffered huge delays and financial losses due to Ugu District Municipality and Ray Nkonyeni Municipality.
Vermeulen said in 2012, he paid Ugu District Municipality R340 000 to have a 75mm water pipe installed in the estate, saying that Ugu failed to do so.
He said he then installed a 30mm pipe at his own expense, at a cost of R30 000.
“The water feed to the site is therefore not sufficient for compliant fire testing, so the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality Fire Department refused to approve some of the estate plans,” he said.
Vermeulen explained that for the last two years, the poor communication and services by local government officials resulted in a R7m loss and severe problems between the members of the body corporate.
The Developers Forum and the South Coast Chamber of Commerce said the owner (Vermeulen) is desperate and has made himself very unpopular with local government officials who ignore his pleas.
It added that members of the body corporate have gone as far as boycotting levy payments and even opening criminal cases against him for delaying the start of building their units.
The forum said the plan approval process includes consideration of different departments that may be involved in regulations pertaining to the proposed building.
It added that when a plan is considered for approval, various building regulations and bylaws also have to be considered.
The forum said in terms of fire safety SANS 10090 as well as the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act, 1977 (Act No. 103 of 1977), Fire Protection, as set out in SANS 10400 Part T: 2011, the Fire Safety Act and the Fire Safety bylaws are considered by the inspectors at the fire station.
“If they are satisfied, they will sign off on the plan for approval. The documents for Golden Land Estate were mostly drawn up and designed at a time when it was accepted that municipal water supply is always available at the right pressure and quality. The tests and flow rates in the specifications are set up for such conditions. Over time, and specifically in Ugu, water supply is not that reliable anymore as is Eskom power. The authorities have, however, not provided for amendments or additions to the regulations to allow for non-compliance by government,” said the forum.
It added that Ugu water was not available in recent times, and houses burned to the ground as a result.
The forum said the specifications are outdated and not practical, and as a result, a rational design done by a competent person for the estate is required.
“This person is then recommended by the fire services to develop a detailed design of tanks, pipe reticulations, pumps and generators that will do the work when Ugu, Eskom or the fire department fail. The above has, however, caused huge delays and financial losses to developers and homeowners. The lack of planning, training and communication to enable the officials and the competent persons to deliver uniform and timeous services has killed economic growth on the South Coast,” said the forum.
Also, the forum said since the start of the issue with the Hibberdene development, it became clear that very few developments on the coast comply with the requirements set for them.
The forum said this has resulted in lengthy and very costly court cases, which Vermeulen won, but nobody wins.
“The last of the ever-changing goals set by the Ray Nkonyeni fire department have been met, but it could have been done years ago if Ugu, RNM and the fire department had a more user-friendly and informative structure,” said the forum.
Comments from Ugu District Municipality and Ray Nkonyeni Municipality were not received at the time of going to press.
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