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IF an Irish land owner has his way, prime Glencairn mountainside will soon make way for 21 more houses.

Notice of the application to rezone and subdivide land adjacent to the Glencairn Hotel was published on Friday and objectors have until the end of March to state their case.

Martin Kelly, the owner of two erven (1 and 3410), together compri?sing some 81 hectares (810 000 m²), in Glencairn, intends to deve?lop portions of the currently undeve?loped erven into residential properties.

The applications for each erf have been submitted separately. Accor?ding to the applications, submitted on behalf of Kelly's company Cape Town Coastal Properties by land surveyor Duncan Bates, the land in question is currently zoned as "nature area" based on "an erroneous assumption (in 1998) that the land was state owned and not privately owned as was the case".

Kelly's company bought the two erven (3410 in 2002 and erf 1 in 2004) for a total of R3,14 million.

According to Bates, negotiations are under way to donate some 76 800 m² of the land to South African National Parks in exchange for being allowed to rezone and develop the lower sections for housing. The terms of such an agreement have not yet been decided upon.

It is understood that one of the conditions would be that the land intended for donation would first have to be cleared of extensive alien vegetation. In 1989 erf 3410 was approved for group housing but these plans were never realised.

Erf 1 (78,86 ha) was apparently designated for urban development in the Urban Structure Plan for the Cape Metropolitan Area in 1988, but listed as primary natural area in the Simon's Town Structure Plan of 1995.

According to Friday's notification, the Draft Peninsula Urban Edge Study of 2001, which marked the land as a "non-urban use zone", would have to be revised to "reinstate" the land within the Urban Development Area of Glencairn.

Basic Assessment Reports for environmental considerations are in the final stages of preparation and the requirement for a full scoping report and an Environmental Impact Assessment has not been triggered in terms of the relevant legislation.

Nicki Holderness, ward councillor for Simon's Town, says the concern is that the urban edge will be encroached upon and that this will set a "dangerous precedent" for future developments.

The application echoes the situation of the contentious Erf 60 Gordons development, which is likewise designated "primary nature area" in terms of the Simon's Town Structure Plan of 1998, and lies outside the defined urban edge. An application was made by the Gordon's Trust last year to build 65 homes on a portion of the 40 ha land. The battle over this development is ongoing.

The applications for erven 1 and 3410, which are open for viewing at the South Peninsula Admi?nis?tration offices, propose a gated complex of 10 sectional title units on erf 1 at an average of 2 057 m² and 11 single residential units on erf 3410 at an average of 2 486 m² and maximum height of eight metres each.

The rezoning of Primary Nature Areas is likely to draw widespread criticism, with residents and local organisations already allu?ding to court action over the Erf 60 application. The validity in law of various town planning documents drafted under former Far South municipal administrations, but not ratified by the time of the Unicity's formation, will most likely be at the centre of these battles.

aly@peoplespost.co.za

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