East London’s new super suburb begins to take shape
30,000 new homes, shopping centre and hotel
East London’s super suburb of 30,000 homes planned for the Quenera River valley is underway.
Leigh McNamara, developer of the “village” estate, Riverleigh, said the eight-hectare site had been cleared of dense alien port jackson, ink berry, gum and wattle trees and replaced with indigenous plants and trees.
A sewage plant was in place, and roads and infrastructure pegged.
The village will have its own access off Quenera Drive, below Retail Park in Beacon Bay.
Deon Poortman, spokesman for the 200unit Cycad Retirement Village adjacent to Riverleigh, said: “All the infrastructure has been planned and BCM has granted approval to start. We have started already clearing the land, and surveying the property.”
The mega-suburb will depend on the completion of a link road between Beacon Bay and Gonubie.
An excited McNamara said: “Twenty years ago I purchased the land with the idea of developing along the Quenera river course, and now it is going ahead.
“The first homes will be occupied this time next year. On completion, we will have a shopping centre, a small hotel, and nearly 50 homes, situated down towards the river.”
Riverleigh, a mixed-use estate, would be an “environmental paradise”, said McNamara.
“The goal is developing East London’s finest garden estate, with homes looking on to the 100-year flood line, and the cliffs beyond. The view is superb, plus it is a haven for birds and wildlife.”
McNamara, well known to East Londoners as the owner of the Ashmel Super Spar, said that building and developing was his hobby. “The Spar is the work, and it pays the bills.”
Originally from Komga, where he owned a dairy, he relocated to East London in 1992. His hobby, building and developing, has resulted in 114 homes and several complexes in East London.
“I purchased much of the land below Beacon Bay Retail Park, pencilling in a hospital and related buildings, including a hotel for medical tourists. However, I sold some of the land when a hospital group offered to take over the projects.”
McNamara said his development bordered the N2, straddling the Quenera River, and did not depend on the link road for access.
Grant Wheatley, director of Novate, the largest developer in the Beacon Bay–Retail Park area, with several office blocks, apartment complexes and the Life Hospital, said the link road would herald the start of unprecedented growth for the new suburb.
“The suburb is enormous, accommodating 30,000 homes, scores of businesses, schools, service areas and open spaces. The start of the first two villages is great news. The biggest winner is the city, which can anticipate a monthly rates bonanza in excess of R30m a month once it is complete.”
McNamara said: “When I built Ascot estate, the first property in the area below Retail Park, Buffalo City Metro gave me a tough time regarding the sewage. I was forced to put up a plant that could cope with all the future development.”
McNamara fought the decision, but BCM ground him down, refusing any permissions until the plant was complete.
The new suburb is bordered on its northern end by the N2, between Gonubie and the Beacon Bay off ramp exits, below the Life Hospital in Beacon Bay. To the south lies the Bonza Bay lagoon, 7km away. The suburb is up to 3km wide in places from east (Gonubie) to west (Beacon Bay).