Heritage Cases

The Applicant, Ama Superco 20 CC wishes to obtain Environmental Authorization for the proposed Light Industrial Development on the Remainder of Lot 20, Marburg Settlement No. 5096, Ray Nkonyeni Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal. The proposed development site is located at GPS coordinates 30°45’17.76’’S and 30°25’26.80’’E. The proposed development property has a footprint of approximately 6.96 hectares. Approximately 4.49 hectares of the property will be used to establish the proposed Light Industrial Development Estate. The project site is located in an area surrounded by urban and industrial development. The primary access to the site will be via Berg Road. The site is bounded by Berg Road located North of the proposed development site. The N2 Main Road is also noted to be located in close proximity to the North of the proposed development site. Access to the site can be obtained via Berg Road. It is proposed that a road network will be established within the development footprint for ease of access to the various light industrial units. The proposed Light industrial Development will comprise of approximately 27 industrial units and an internal road network of approximately 15 metres wide. The proposed Light Industrial Development site is predominantly surrounded by industrial and commercial activities in the north-western, north and north-easterly direction from the proposed site. At present, the proposed site is zoned as ‘agricultural’ and a rezoning application is anticipated to be undertaken. There are several abandoned buildings located on the property. There are ephemeral watercourses found intersecting the traversing the proposed development site. In order to make provisions for the proposed development footprint, some watercourse areas are anticipated to be infilled. The proposed development site is noted to intersect areas classified as “Biodiversity Priority Areas”. Furthermore, the proposed development site is intersected by the “Interior Coastal Grassland” ecosystem, which is considered to be a Critically Endangered Ecosystem. A Phase 1 HIA was undertaken in accordance with the requirements of Section 41(1)(c)&(d) of the KwaZulu-Natal Amafa and Research Institute Act, 2018 (Act 5 of 2018). The project site is located within an area that is designated as ‘moderately sensitivity’ in terms of fossil sensitivity according to the SAHRIS palaeo-sensitivity map. As such a Desktop PIA was also undertaken for the proposed light industrial estate development project.