Red light for lodge development at Hangklip

(This article was originally in the Cape Times on 16 March 2006)

The property developer who started to build a five-star lodge on Cape Hangklip has been ordered to stop work and conduct an environmental impact assessment (EIA).

This comes after the Overstrand municipality had given the go-ahead for construction of the building on what has been described as "one of the scenic icons" of the Western Cape.

But local residents and conservation bodies objected to the development, especially after they discovered that the building was to be a luxury five-star lodge, and took the matter up with the provincial Department of Environment Affairs and Development Planning.

They also objected to the siting of the development, which they said was too high up on the scenic slopes. 

The Overstrand Conservation Foundation wrote to the department to point out that the building did not comply with the Western Cape Spatial Development Framework.

Also, the land fell within a sensitive area and the construction of a road to the property was a "listed activity", which meant there was a legal requirement to do an EIA.

The purpose of an EIA is to examine the impact a proposed development would have on the environment.

Rob Fryer, manager of the Overstrand Conservation Foundation, said in his letter to Theo Tolmay, head of the provincial environment department, that the Overstrand Municipality had treated the developers' building application as if it were "of little consequence", and had failed to refer the plans to the local ward committee or to civil society representatives.

Now Tolmay has written to advise the developer, Ezulwini Investments, that the upgrading of the existing road on the Hangklip property and the construction of 150 metres of new road requires an EIA.

Tolmay added: "Due to the sensitive nature of the area, in the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve and within a natural corridor, this department requires that (Ezulwini Investments cc) undertakes an EIA to allay concern regarding the scale and appropriateness of the development, as well as to determine the impact of the development on the natural systems of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve."

Residents have welcomed the move, but say this is another example of the public having to step in to do the job of officials.

Ian Cushny, of Pringle Bay Ratepayers' Association, said on Wednesday: "The Overstrand Municipality must be rapped over the knuckles for granting authority for this when they had no right... If municipal officials don't know the correct planning procedures, and grant approvals that go against the spacial development planning policy, where will it end? "With a Tuscan village on top of Table Mountain?"