Housing project makes inroads in suburb
Preliminary plans for the proposed affordable housing development in the neighbourhood of Die Bult next to the George golf course include 189 residential units of between 44m2 (semi-detached units) and 110m2 (free-standing, single units).
The plans have been made available to the King George Residents' Association after residents aired their concern over the impact of the dense development on their neighbourhood's traffic volumes and property value.
Should this development on erven 21028 and 21029 go ahead, it would be one of the first examples of a type of integrated development that the George Municipality envisions in its spatial development framework.
Municipal communicatons chief Chantel Edwards-Klose said, "This project will definitely cause a much wider level of integration and diversity. There were smaller similar projects in Lavalia and Rosemoor, but to date, such a project on such a scale has never been done in George."
Power Construction is the developer, who bought the land at a nominal cost from province in order for the properties to be affordable for the target market.
The proposed Valley Ridge Estate application includes three business erven, a community centre, an open space / play park and a cellphone tower. According to Nick Ferreira, senior developments manager at the Power Group, all properties will be freehold and will predominantly be sold off-plan. He said it was difficult to confirm prices as it will depend on the type of unit sold.
Due to time constraints, Ferreira could not comment further, but promised to discuss residents' concerns more fully at a later stage.
An engineer's traffic impact study is underway.
According to the King George Residents' Association, traffic flow to and from the area is already a challenge. Godfrey Louw, chairman of the residents' association, said the traffic impact must be addressed by the developer prior to building operations. "Approximately 150 to 200 vehicles will be added to an already congested Loch Lomond Drive," he said.
Louw said residents are also concerned about future maintenance of the new development. "At our last meeting, the concern was raised that the development could eventually deteriorate into a typical slump area, should no agent or designated body enforce architectural guidelines and house rules."