HELDERBERG residents will have to wait another month before they can find out how the specialists think an optic fibre factory will affect the Helderberg.
The draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) on the optic fibre factory, which has been proposed for the old AECI site in Somerset West, was on the verge of being released last week when one of the specialists indicated that he wanted to do a little more work on the air emissions assessment.
As a result, the EIR has been put on hold and the open house forum which was to be held on October 31 has been postponed to a later date. SRK Consulting, who are coordinating the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process for FiberCore Africa, the proposers of the factory, say they hope to release the EIR by December.
They are aware that many Helderberg residents will be on vacation then, and say that at least a full calendar month will thus be provided for comments to be sent in.
Not during holidays
The open house forum would also not be held during the holiday period, but may then take place in January, SRK say. Cheryl Jenks of SRK says that the bulk of the EIR has been completed.
The EIR comprises the results of three specialist studies: an air assessment, a visual impact assessment and a risk assessment.
The specialist working on the air assessment felt he needed to do more work and was not happy with releasing his study last week, Cheryl says, and thus the release of the EIR has had to be postponed.