REPORT TO THE JUNE 2009 CBRRA AGM ON THE POSSIBLE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE WIEHAHN OUDEKRAAL PROPERTIES
BACKGROUND
“The Oudekraal property on the western slopes of Table Mountain is one of the top handful of undeveloped urban land parcels anywhere in the world and its future is a matter of international and not just local concern”. So stated the Argus newspaper on 5 June 2009 after a recent meeting held by a possible Developer with important conservationalists and stakeholders.
This pristine property, with the exception of the Oudekraal Hotel, between the southern border of Camps Bay and the northern boundary of Llandudno, is owned by Mr. Kasper Wiehahn. He has been involved in litigation against the Cape Town City Council for many years in an attempt to enable him to develop them after his father’s applications to do so were turned down in the 1950s on technicalities and the presence of Muslim graves.
At present, Mr. Wiehahn has appealed to the Supreme Court to have judgments in previous court cases against him overturned and this case is currently still ongoing.
Recently, Mr. Wiehahn has entered into an agreement with a Developer, Property Promotions and Management (Pty) Ltd, that it be given an option to purchase all the erven, regardless of the outcome of the present court case, should it consider the properties financially viable to develop.
Whereas Mr, Wiehahn is bound by the agreement to sell, depending on the price offered being acceptable, the Developer can elect not to make an offer to purchase, should he find that the financial feasibility is not favourable or public reaction is insuperable.
To this end, the potential Developer has been given permission by Mr. Wiehahn’s company, Oudekraal Estates, to make an environmental investigation of the site and examine all the issues and characteristics thereof. It is currently appointing expert consultants over a wide range of disciplines to complete a preliminary report to enable the Developer to decide as to whether to invest a considerable mount of risk capital to convince it of its feasibility and possibility.
5 JUNE 2009 NON-PUBLIC MEETING WITH INVITED STAKEHOLDERS
To this end, Messrs. Doug Jeffery Environmental Consultants, acting for the Developer, held a meeting with important invited stakeholders and conservationalists on 4 June 2009 to brief them and to obtain an initial reaction from them. CBRRA was invited as a stakeholder.
The Consultants stressed that no development plans were on the table, that no formal statutory EIA study or application process for development had started and that over the next six months the Developer would concentrate on a range of specialist studies on issues like flora, fauna, geology, water, heritage and Muslim graves existing on the sites.
The whole area was divided into seven sub-erven, each with agricultural zoning with one single dwelling being permitted on each sub-erf.
The Wiehahns had applied for the development of the 44 hectare sub-erf (Portion 7) nearest to Camps Bay being developed into a township, which had been disallowed by the Council.
This information gathering initiative was aimed at gathering sufficient baseline material to see whether any of the total 370 hectares were suitable for possible development.
After completion of the technical report, the Developer would then take a decision on whether and how to proceed or not. The Developer had the right not to take up its option if it so decided.
The meeting cautioned the Developer that there could be massive opposition to any development on the site, even if the specialist studies did indicate that development was feasible and it was not a logical conclusion that development would automatically follow a positive environmental report.
Furthermore, the invited audience also advised the Developer that their presence at these meetings did not bind them to the support of any development, regardless of their advice as to whether the site was suitable for development or not.
THE FUTURE
The Environmental Consultants hope to have the environmental report finished before the end of this year (2009) and in due course, CBRRA hopes to bring their presentation of the report to one of our future public meetings.
This meeting, therefore will not be asked to vote on what it thinks should or should not be done on the site. This will be left to future meetings once the whole investigatory process is further down the line or is completed. A full public participation process has been promised should the Developer decide to proceed with a proposal in due course.
As the closest stakeholder to the site, CBRRA is determined to keep a careful watching brief on all stages of the present investigatory process and will keep its public fully informed every step along the way.
Read a copy of the judgement ‹‹here››.
John Powell
CBRRA
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