Department defends development project

THE Department of Economic Development in KwaZuluNatal said it completed the necessary investigations before giving developers the green light to start construction on a new logistics park at the old Clairwood Racecourse.

This is in the heads of the argument the department filed in the Durban High Court in response to the case brought against it by the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance.

The department said an air-quality assessment report “concluded that the effect of increased emissions was negligible, but nevertheless recommended mitigating measures”.

“Consequent upon the air-quality assessment report, it was not necessary to investigate the matter further,” it said.

The case was supposed to be argued last Friday, but the department’s lawyers were not ready to proceed.

The case centres on the alliance’s averment that the department did not comply with conditions prescribed by the empowering legislation, when it granted permission for work to start on the R3.5 billion development.

The alliance, which is being represented by the Legal Resource Centre, said there were a series of “reviewable irregularities”.

“The MEC failed to properly assess and apply his mind to the cumulative impacts of the proposed development of the Clairwood Racecourse on the air quality, health and well-being of the local Clairwood community and failed to apply his mind to the principle of environmental justice for this community,” it said in its own heads of argument.

The alliance said the department had failed to consider two major health studies relating to air quality.

And, it went on, the scoping report and the environmental impact report “contained no assessment or description of the community, by reference to community health generally or the health of vulnerable groups, such as the number of children who are asthmatics and suffer from respiratory diseases”.

But the department said it had had regard to the studies in question.

“The South Durban Health study dated July 2006 shows that South Durban CO levels were very low,” it said.

“The available evidence before the (department) suggested that the issue was appropriately addressed.

“An overall assessment of the available documents did not evince a need for further investigations.”

Development firm Capital Property Fund, in its heads of argument, also argues that the effect on air quality would be “negligible”.

“Air quality was not overlooked or ignored during the Environmental Impact Assessment process.

“An appropriately qualified air-quality risk assessor investigated air-quality impact. His substantive findings have not been challenged in a meaningful way.”

The case will be in court again in December.