Heritage Cases

The applicant, Jacqueline Noel Wild Hawk Trust, proposes the establishment of cultivation on an area of 19.5ha on part of Portion 13 of the farm Pretoria 25 KT, at Ofcolaco within the Maruleng Local Municipality. The applicant is already cultivating large parts of the adjacent properties, producing mainly mangos and operating a mango atchar factory where fruit from their own orchards, as well as mangos, purchased from local farms, are processed. They are looking to expand their cultivated area and have identified the area being applied for as the most suitable area in terms of high agricultural potential and manageable potential environmental impacts. It is proposed that the site be used for the production of different vegetable crops, specifically winter crops such as green beans, which can be successfully produced in this area while many other parts of the country are too cold at that time of year. In a few years’ time, the site may be used for avocado cultivation. A water allocation is in place from the Selati River Irrigation Board, which will be sufficient for the applicant’s current cultivated areas as well as the proposed new section planted with vegetables. If in future avocado orchards are to be planted, additional water for irrigation will be required, which is planned to be abstracted from boreholes and for which a water use license application will be lodged at that stage. The heritage impact assessment found two sites with ceramic sherds, of which one site also appeared to contain the remains of a possible hut floor. The boundaries of the area to be cultivated have been adjusted to exclude the latter site, as the archaeologist recommended a buffer of 20m to be kept around this site. The other side does not need to be excluded, but monitoring will be undertaken during development, as per the archaeologist’s recommendations.