Anger over Beachwood property

Residents upset over plans to turn the golf course into a housing development

DURBAN North residents want to stop ethekwini Municipality’s plans to “tee off” the development of a 75-year-old golf course into a multimillion-rand coastal estate.

Plans are under way by Beachwood Investments to develop the green lung into a housing and recreational estate. It bought the private Beachwood Course from the Durban Country Club (DCC) in 2017.

Residents have until December 12 to submit their written objections to the ethekwini Land Use Management offices and many of them were saying “no” to the development.

More than 100 residents met at the Beachwood Golf Course on Thursday to voice their disapproval.

They said they were concerned that: The recreational land was set aside for the benefit of the residents of Durban North who have enjoyed this position for 75 years and want it to remain for recreational use.

The project was simply one of financial expediency of the developers and undermined the Durban North residents who use the land. In fairness, if the recreational use was to be removed then it should be replaced on a “like for like” basis, such as 42 hectares of recreational land should be replaced by another. Should it be developed, the developer will be the winner and walk away with profits of a few hundred million rands and the losers will be the residents of Durban North who will lose 42ha of recreational land and walk away with nothing. Clearly unacceptable from a socio-economic perspective.

Vanessa Knight, the chairperson of the Durban North Residents Association, said the developers had bought the property – which was and had been restricted for recreation for 75 years – for R100 million.

“They got what they paid for so they should get on with delivering recreation. Instead, they have made it clear from the date of purchase that they wish to redevelop it, which is a wish and not a right,” she said.

Environmental law specialist Jeremy Ridl said the development could escalate issues faced by the residents.

There were town-planning issues such as traffic congestion and not having enough stormwater and sewage pipelines, said Ridl.

Ward councillor Shontel de Boer, said they were not against the development which would boost the city’s economy.

However, she said: “In this case, the developers cannot use the protected area that was meant for recreational purposes.

“There’s a clause that was signed that should the golf club be sold to another beneficiary, it could never be for personal gain,” she said.

Gavin Strydom, the CEO of Edstan Construction, the custodian of the Beachwood Golf Course development, said the project was spatially aligned with the city’s vision.

Strydom pointed out that since the DCC had opted to sell the golf course owing to financial difficulties, the use of the property as a golf club was no longer sustainable nor commercially feasible

“As a result of the public sale of the property, the Beachwood Golf Course as a land use became redundant and the zone that was created for its existence was no longer appropriate,” he said.

“It is noted that the decision to sell the property was a decision made by the owners of Beachwood Golf Course at the time (the DCC) and this sale was concluded by way of a public auction.

“The public was well aware of the intention to sell and aware of the auction some four years ago. Some of the current objectors also participated in this auction to acquire the property for development purposes, just like ourselves,” he said.

Strydom said the development was centred on a sustainable, environmentally conscious initiative that would leave the neighbourhood better off.

“Our design and master plan has been constructed to take into account the prevailing environmental sensitivities of the property where some 77% of the land will remain undeveloped to encourage conservation.

“This low-construction footprint is considered a low-density development for the land size.

“From an engineering perspective, there has been a cautious approach to the management of stormwater and related engineering infrastructure. We are spending millions of rand on new stormwater management which will overcome the current flooding in places at the golf course,” he said.

ethekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela confirmed that the planning application had been advertised for parties to submit comments or their views.

“The municipality cannot express a view on any aspect of this application prior to the public process being concluded,” said Mayisela.