Heritage Cases

The proposed development entails repair and maintenance work to existing harbour infrastructure, dredging of sand in the harbour basin and the development of an access road (approximately 7m wide and 105 m in length) through an area containing indigenous vegetation with a development footprint of approximately 735m². Repair and maintenance work Existing infrastructure which requires repair and maintenance work include quay 1 and 2, slipways 1,2 and 3, jetty, breakwater and rock revetment. NB! The abovementioned activities are all maintenance and repair work within the existing footprint and will not increase the development footprint of the existing harbour. It therefore, does not constitute a listed activity in terms of the EIA Regulations, 2017 (as per the correspondence, dated 06 March 2017, from the Department of Environmental Affairs – Reference number: 14/12/16/3/1/1/104). Dredging of sand within the harbour basin Sediment build-up occurs alongside the breakwater on the up-drift side, (south side), due to longshore sediment transport travelling south to north. This beach has reached its storage capacity and sediment is rounding the breakwater and being deposited in the harbour basin through wave action. Sediment is also being blown directly over the breakwater into the harbour basin. This sediment rounding the breakwaters is being deposited in front of the slipways creating problems with launching and recovery of boats. Sediment build-up in the harbour basin has led to the need for dredging. The Struisbaai harbour requires dredging of material over a relatively large area to depths ranging from 1 to 2m. The harbour’s entrance channel and basin extent is still visible, but is covered by this layer of sediment. Approximately 34000m³ of sediment would need to be dredged out in order to reinstate the harbour to acceptable conditions. Dredged sand (approximately 34 000m3) will be deposited on the beach as show below. There are fish traps (which could be historical) located near the dredging area east of the harbour, however the dredging activities will have no impact on these fish traps. The disposal of the dredged material would require special attention as this greatly affects production, risk and overall dredging costs dramatically. The proposed beach nourishing exercise is considered as the preferred option NB! The abovementioned dredging and beach nourishment activities does not trigger a listed activity as the exclusion applies and will be included in an MMP (as per the correspondence, dated 06 March 2017, from the Department of Environmental Affairs – Reference number: 14/12/16/3/1/1/104), which will be included in the Basic Assessment Report for commenting purposes. Access road An access road of approximately 7m and 105m long will be constructed within an area containing indigenous vegetation. The proposed development footprint of the road will be approximately 735m².