Sale of De Kraal halted
2008-10-30
THE sale of the property known as De Kraal in Huguenot (erf 17439) for development is to be cancelled. The property is to be readvertised for sale via a public tender process after the original deed of sale lapsed. In 2005 the land was sold to a developer, Ster Corp Developments, for R1,1 million, to erect a shopping centre on the historic site, formerly a popular sports field with historic connotations. The developer was to donate an additional sum of R400 000 for sports facilities on an alternative site behind the communitiy hall and would construct an extension of Abattoir Road to the Huguenot bypass at a cost of about R2 million. Ster Corp has developed a shopping centre in Beaufort West and plans other centres in Macassar and Springbok in a joint venture with the Osman Family Trust as funding partner. An application for the change in land use, rezoning, subdivision and consent use was advertised on 1 December 2005, despite public opposition to the loss of the historic site as a sports field. Two objections to the project were received, including one from the Slabbert family maintaining that the land was donated by them to the Municipality as sports grounds for the community (and should now revert to the family). According to the deeds office, however, the site had always been government property. The deed of sale of the land, which is now valued at R11,5 million, has lapsed, mainly due to changes in legislation governing environmental approvals. In May this year Ster Corp offered to raise the purchase price of the De Kraal land to R1,85 million and the development was recommended to the Mayoral Committee for approval. Last week the Mayoral Committee decided that the sale of the property be cancelled. No decision has yet been taken as to the future of the site.
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