township

DATE: ___________________________

Dear Sir/Madam,

Letter of Objection: Application for establishment of township - South Hills Extension 2

With reference to:

• Notice placed in South Rand Road

• Documents relating to the development inspected at the 8th floor Metro Centre.

• Deeds of Transfer (Title Deeds)

• “South Hills Extenstion 2” is commonly know as “Moffat Park”

• 3 Nov 2010 - R1,356 Billion tender was awarded to Standard Bank & Calgro M3 (see Calgro web site)

• Nov 2011 – “South Hills Extension 2 - Memorandum in support of the application for Township Establishment".pdf Page 23: "The combined total units that is envisioned to be developed is 5,161 residential units"

We would like to formally object to the Application for establishment of township - South Hills Extension 2 on the following grounds:

1. The development of the township is on heritage land and is against the wishes of forefathers as expressed in the title deeds - "The land is to be used solely for the purposes of a public park" – see Page 3 section (a) and page 6 section (f) of the “Deeds of Transfer”. Establishing a township on Moffat Park sets a very bad precedent, what's next – housing developments on Rhodes Park, Mellville Koppies, The Wilds?

2. The development of the township will result in loss / reduction of park that serves the community for recreation with its associated health and well-being benefits.

Moffat Park is currently used for recreational activities such as walking, hiking, mountain biking, camping, cross country running, bird watching, etc, by residents of surrounding suburbs.

This development would result in reduction / loss of this facility that serves the community.

Moffat Park is a good quality, accessible green space and provides many health and well-being benefits. The most significant of these can be grouped into three broad categories: (1) increased life expectancy and reduced health inequality; (2) improvements in levels of physical activity and health; (3) promotion of psychological health and mental well-being. Associations have been found between access to green space and raised levels of physical activity, which in turn improves individuals’ health. Green spaces also have a beneficial impact on mental well-being and cognitive function.

This development seeks to reduce one of the last remaining natural public open spaces in the South of Johannesburg.

1. The development of the township will result in loss / reduction of open natural, environmentally friendly green open space and its associated climate change benefits.

Moffat Park has an important role in supporting the adaptation of people who live in the surrounding suburbs and city to a changing climate. It provides shade, cooling and wind interception and an insulation role in the winter. It also mitigates the risks from climate change-induced reductions in air and water quality; and it provides a buffer for habitats and species, whilst contributing to attainment of sustainable urban drainage and controlling upstream water flows to reduce flood risk. Effectively harnessed, Moffat Park has the potential for informing people about climate change. Moffat Park can also be used to promote an appreciation of the impacts of climate change and lifestyle changes needed to reduce further effects and/or to adapt to them.

1. The development of the township will result in loss / reduction of space for wildlife and habitats.

Ecological benefits of urban green infrastructure are largely related to the provision of habitat. Species from the very common to the very rare make use of all types of green areas like Moffat Park.

1. The development of the township will remove the potential of Moffat Park for enhancing social cohesion; it can bring people together, and can create community cohesion as different social groups engage with each other whilst making use of the park for recreation.

2. The current plan’s educational facilities are inadequate to accommodate the children of 5,161 families.

   • Schools in the surround are already over capacity

   • Tertiary education in the South is non-existent

   • The current plan has educational facilities as part of phase 2 (cart before horse)

Educational facilities need to be built first to prevent event further over-crowing in surrounding schools.

The development must not start until educational facilities are built.

1. The current plan does not sufficiently cater for public transportation provisioning

Public transportation in the South is currently very limited.

The proposed BRT, will not adequately cater for the high density, 5161 unit development

We recommend that the Gautrain be provided to the South

1. The development will have a negative effect on values of surrounding properties.

The current proposal of RDP/BNG/GAP units have values well below the values of surrounding suburbs (The Hill, Linmeyer) whose units which vary from R1m to over R2.5m.

This will result in unit values being depressed in surrounding areas, and residents losing money in their most valuable investment.

1. .The Metro, CalgroM3, Standard Bank, LEAP have not consulted adequately with those most affected - residents surrounding Moffat Park

   • Tender was awarded 5 months before public participation

   • One poorly advertised and attended meeting was held

   • Requests for meetings have been ignored

   • Notices were insufficient and placed in difficult to locate locations

   • 4 notices placed in Nephin Rd, 1 in South Rand Rd, 1 in Southern Kliprivier Rd, 0 in East - each of these Rds is +/-1.3km long.

   • Insufficient periods were provided for objections - only 28 days

2. The current plan does not cater for rehabilitation of surrounding suburbs or community.

No investment is being made in uplifting existing suburbs.

R1,356 Billion would be better spent uplifting suburbs like Welfare Park, South Hills, Moffat View, etc.

1. The current plan does not address the social and economic needs of the 5,161 families and surrounding suburbs.

The current plan for 5,161 units is 6.88x more dense than the surrounding suburbs.

This will result in overcrowding and unemployment, with unwelcome social and economic decline.

The plan does even begin to address these issues and is designed to make maximum profits for Standard Bank and CalgroM3 at the expense of the South.

1. The current plan does not address the inadequate road infrastructure & traffic congestion already experienced on arterial routes around Moffat Park.

The estimated +10,000 cars will result in significant congestion during peak hours on arterial routes.

During peak hours, congestion already exists on cnr East / Southern Klipriversberg Roads

During peak hours, congestion already exists on Vickers/Marjorie/M19 north all the way through to Heidelberg Rd into the city.

No additional upgrades to these roads are included in the current plan.

Our preference is that Moffat Park be converted to a nature conservancy.

The Environmental Impact Assessment indicated a number of "RED" species, and these should be preserved.

Further, we request that:

1. Consultation takes place with the residents of the surrounding areas so we can contribute and express recommendations and concerns.

2. Rehabilitation / upliftment of surrounding suburbs (Welfare Park, South Hills, Moffat View, Roseacre, etc) be undertaken

3. Social, economic, environmental, transportation and educational needs of the surrounding suburbs are addressed.

These recommendations are to ensure that “South Hills 2” does not become another run down suburb like “South Hills 1”

Based on the above, we feel that the application for establishment of a township should be declined.

We reserve the right to raise other matters and / or objections at a future date.

Yours faithfully,

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