Heritage Cases

The project applicant, Ubuntu Local Municipality historically cleared an approximate 26.6 ha portion of natural vegetation for the development of low cost housing in the informal settlement directly adjacent north-west of the town of Loxton, Northern Cape Province. The necessary underground services such as water reticulation, sewage and electrical infrastructure was also installed at the time but no formal aboveground housing infrastructure development took place. No Environmental Authorisation was however initially obtained from the Northern Cape Department of Environment and Nature Conservation (DENC) as is legally required by the National Environmental Management Act (Act 107 of 1998) (NEMA). The applicant has subsequently been made aware of this legal transgression and has therefore opted to follow a Section 24G process in accordance with NEMA in order to rectify the situation. Eco-Con Environmental (Pty) Ltd. was appointed by the Department of Co-operative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs Northern Cape (COGHSTA) as the independent Environmental Practitioner (EAP) to conduct the NEMA Section 24 G rectification process. Eco-Con Environmental was established in May 2017. Although the formal establishment of the company took place in 2017, it is backed by more than 15 years of collective professional service and experience in the environmental field. The qualifications, expertise and experience of our professional team form the backbone of the company’s continued success. As the development has already taken place, there are no layout alternatives for the project. • Layout Figure 1: Locality map (see appendix D for A3 size) Figure 2: Locality plan (see appendix C for A3 size) An area of 26.6 ha has been divided into 233 erven for this development. As can be seen in Figure 1, the Western and Central Part of the assessment has undergone intensive development. However, the Eastern Part has not yet been developed. If the Eastern Part of the area is to be developed, the Engineering drawings relating to layouts and civil services would have to be extended to this area since the only drawings available are for the Western and Central Part. • Housing The housing specifications, providing an in detail description of all the materials used during the building process as well as the building protocol can be found under Appendix C – Facility Illustrations. • The construction of roads An integrated road network of between 8 m and 9 m in width was developed in between the different residential blocks. Some of these roads have already been paved whilst a few dirt roads still remain. • The provision of electricity, water and sewage systems The necessary underground services such as water reticulation, sewage and electrical infrastructure was installed at the time. The Ubuntu Local Municipality has provided written confirmation that it has sufficient capacity for bulk electricity, water and sewage supply. Water will be obtained from four (4) existing boreholes. However, only two of these boreholes will be used to supply water to the development. The development will use 4500L water in total per day. The blow yield of the two (2) boreholes combined, equates to 273 600L per day. Yield tests can be found in the Geohydrological Report under Appendix J. Power lines have already been erected to supply the development with electricity. 15 sites have already been electrified whilst the remaining 36 sites will be electrified in the 2018/2019 financial year. Waste water from the project area is disposed of at the Loxton Waste Water Treatment Works where it is treated. Engineering drawings of both the water supply as well as the water and sewer layout plan can be found under appendix C – Facility Illustrations. • Zoning of properties The current zoning of the property is as Recreational Zone I. The property will need to be rezoned to Residential. • Waste management The Ubuntu Local Municipality has provided written confirmation that it has sufficient capacity for bulk general waste disposal. General waste from the project area will be disposed of at the Loxton Landfill Site. This application is taking place in the Northern Cape Province on Portions of Erven 582, 545 and 533, Loxton.