Dunoon deal comes in for more flack
STORMWATER management issues have to be sorted out before houses can be built for Dunoon residents – a matter that the Good Party said it warned the City and province about before they bought the wetland.
Good Party secretary general Brett Herron has since lodged a complaint with the Public Protector over the land deal, which cost nearly R65 million.
He charged that the 17-hectare portion of Racing Park Industrial West land was unsuitable for housing as it was a wetland.
“The whole deal is dodgy. The land was purchased at an inflated price. The land was not needed - there is better suited land, in close proximity, already owned by the City.
“The relocation of the informal settlement has been urgent since 2017 because of the impact on the freight railway line. Four years later nothing has happened because there was an irrational obsession with purchasing this land,” he said.
Provincial Human Settlements director for Communication Nathan Adriaanse said the City approved the rezoning applications on June 8, however approval came with conditions that required additional work prior to commencement of construction.
Adriaanse said the conditions relate stormwater management and capacity of the main Potsdam Waste Water Treatment to accommodate the development.
“The project team is in the process of aligning various technical specifications in order to respond to the conditions of approval before construction can commence,” he said.
Mayco member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Marian Nieuwoudt, said two separate applications were submitted.
Both are subject to the submission of further site development plans (SDPs) which will provide more detail on layout and use.
The Public Protector’s office did not respond by deadline.