Boschendal to start approval process all over again
2008-08-14
COMMON ground on heritage issues and the general public’s involvement in the environmental issues of the Boschendal development mark the final stages before the long delayed Boschendal estate development can become a reality. Members of the public are now invited to take part in the renewed environmental impact assessment (EIA) process, as the first application for the development of the Boschendal Farms has lapsed due to a change in legislation. This follows a two year battle with its determined critics, the Drakenstein Heritage Foundation (DHF), Franschhoek Trust and the Institute of Architects, over the proposals to develop upmarket Founders Estate on the lower slopes of the Simonsberg. The farm is situated in an area defined as a Grade One heritage site and earmarked as a World Heritage Site. The DHF’s opposition to the scheme from the outset was the size and scale and the number of subdivisions proposed, as well as the siting of some of the homesteads on high contours. The lack of local heritage control of the siting, design and size of buildings in the sensitive area was also a major concern. This raised strong objections from the DHF and other bodies who argued that the developers had not undertaken the required studies and consultations in terms of the Heritage Resoucres Act before drawing up their proposal. The three objectors stood their ground, appealing repeatedly against the SA Heritage Resource Agency’s ad hoc permit to go ahead, and were able to apply sufficient pressure on the developer to have the ambitions of the scheme gradually reduced. Now that common ground has been reached, Boschendal and the objectors have agreed on an on- going input of aesthetics by the DHF and the Franschhoek Trust. Although the first environmental impact assessment (EIA) was initiated in 2005 in terms of the Environment Conservation Act, no public participation was undertaken at that stage, and when new legislation was implemented in 2006, the process was re-started. According to Natalie Ritsch, spokesperson of Total Impact, the company appointed by Boschendal to do the EIA, members of the public can register as interested and affected parties until tomorrow 15 August. Boschendal proposes to develop a mixture of agricultural, residential, tourism, eco-tourism and commercial land uses in the Dwars River Valley between Stellenbosch and Franschhoek. Issues like vegetation, fauna, the heritage and archaelogical aspects, visual aspects, the effect on the freshwater, the capacity of services and general traffic and accesses have been raised to date. “Due to the size of the property, as well as the historical and environmental significance, a team of specialists were appointed to do a constraints analysis on the entire property. This has been a long and sensitive process,” she says. This follows after the developers spent months on the preparation of the Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI) and the Integrated Development Framework (IDF), to ensure a low visual impact on the countryside. Less than 6% of the total 2240 ha of land area will be built on and the consulting architects, Dennis Moss and Associates, have put forward plans for the increase of tree canopies and expensive plant screenings which will add some 15% to Boschendal’s green coverage, according to Boschendal CEO, Clive Venning. The follow-up proposals (phase 2) in the pipeline include 23 villages with some 350 homes (on the sites of former Boschendal labourers’ cottages now no longer in use), a retirement village (with 500 units), a boutique 120 room hotel near the manor-house and a small commercial centre (on the site of the local railway siding, also now no longer in use). Members of the public can register as interested and affected parties by contacting Total Impact at natalie@dougjeff.co.za or phone 021-875-5272 by the deadline of Friday 15 August.
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