Plettenberg bay ratepayers association town planning portfolio annual report 2024

Whether you are a resident or a visitor to Plett, it cannot have escaped you that urban growth continues in the area, as manifested in all of the increase in traffic, building operations, new retail facilities opening and, happily the new sporting venues and restaurants in town.

A significant development is the new traffic island on the N2 highway at the intersection with Beacon Way that is nearing completion, and hopefully will ease congestion for travellers through, and commuters into, the town. Amongst the new developments, there have been significant additions to the retail sector, with expansions at Market Square, the completion of the Robberg Bay Shopping centre at the southern end of Longships Drive and the Kwanokuthula Crossing centre, which will be of benefit to residents in those areas and will hopefully resolve some of the town’s traffic congestion.

Those of a sporting bent will be pleased that the new global trend of Padel and Pickleball has not passed by the town, and there are now courts available at various venues along the N2 and in town.

During the year, we monitored applications for the development for some twelve multi-unit housing estates and where necessary commented on the proposed plans, or in extreme cases, objected to their development. Although, as happens, not all of these developments will follow through to completion, but they do represent some 2,000 new housing units, at least on plans, in proposed new housing developments.

An encouraging aspect, is that the municipality is supporting the development of complexes that will service the middle income market. Approximately half of the planned units mentioned above are aimed at this market, which currently is not well served in Bitou. There is a critical need for such accommodation in Bitou and so make available properties at more reasonable prices and rental rates. However, in pursuing developments in this sector, we must guard against the creation of “concrete complexes”, that may prejudice the ambience of the town

In addition to the above, building on individual erven continues apace, as indicated by new build or residential expansion and renovation plans that are submitted to Bitou Municipality for approval (Figure 1). Each year since 2015, in excess of 500 building plans have been submitted to Bitou’s Town Planning Department, although this increased to 737 submissions in 2022 and 952 submissions in 2023. To illustrate the scale and impact of these developments, if all 2023 submissions were approved, this would represent building taking place on over 900 erven, or one in every nineteen erven, in Plett.

Figure 1 Plans submitted for New Builds and Residential Extensions and Renovations 2015 -2023 (Source: Bitou Municipality Annual Reports)

In addition to all of above, Bitou’s Community Service’s Human Settlement Department is responsible for housing development in medium and higher density suburbs and the Department has long term plans for some 5000 housing units. However, the construction of these housing units is subject to annual government funding allocations and, in recent years, this has been limited, and so allows for less than 100 housing units being completed per annum. Currently, housing construction is underway in Ebenezer, while bulk civils work is in progress at Kurland, and also Kwanokuthula Phase 5 is lined up for further development.

All of the above housing developments emphasise the importance of the construction industry to the town. The health of this industry and its employment opportunities are, to a great degree, intrinsically linked to the town being well managed, a vibrant tourist industry and the safeguarding of the environment and the ambience of the area.

Judging by various plans of the Municipality, as well as applications for rezoning and site development approval, we can anticipate that in years to come there will be more new housing developments within Plettenberg Bay and also along the N2, immediately north and west of Plett, and in the area towards the airport.

As we write this, we are aware of a tender that the Municipality has initiated for the redevelopment of the Central Beach precinct, including the buildings adjacent to the car park. Although this is welcome, as would be a complete revamp of the Central Beach/Piesang Lagoon area, we believe it is a lower priority relative to the infrastructure requirements, such as establishing a large scale bulk water storage facility for the town and replacing aged and leaking asbestos water distribution pipes.

With the incessant population growth in Plettenberg Bay and the new housing developments, there is a requirement to expand and develop infrastructure and we are encouraged by recent positive discussions that we have had with the Municipality. A positive development is that Murray High School has plans to expand and we foresee the need for further expansion in the education sector, as well as in the health and essential service sectors.

We continually stress to the Municipality that there needs to be a far greater commitment to long term infrastructure projects. The town’s bulk water storage capacity is very limited and water losses are unacceptably high which, under drought conditions, would place the town’s water security at extreme risk. Furthermore, the waste water facilities, although operating well, are nearing capacity and in time will be inadequate, given the expansion of the town. Similarly, certain roads carrying increasing traffic volumes require upgrading.

We are indeed fortunate in Bitou that the Municipality maintains the town in good working order and that essential services continue to be provided, unlike in many municipalities in the country. We would also like to recognise so many public and private individuals and groups that contribute to keeping the town in good order and neat and tidy. We are indeed fortunate to have such an excellent and enthusiastic skills base in the town, that can be called on to assist with maintaining the high standards we enjoy.

Regrettably, there are a number of development trends, that we believe have the potential to impair the ambiance of the Bitou municipal area. Amongst these is a growing number of cases for applications for building of excessively large houses on small erven that apply for transgressions over building lines and above height restrictions, often to the frustration of nearby homeowners.

There is also more interest being shown in development of multi-unit housing estates in “green belt” areas and this is particularly the case now in the area between the Keurbooms River and Keurboomstrand. Your Association continues to monitor applications for these developments and makes strident representations to object, or guide these developments, and so preserve what we consider to be the precious natural environment of Bitou.

During the year, the Municipality has continued to identify municipal owned properties that are not required by the Municipality and which they have identified for disposal. Some thirty such properties have been identified in the past two years and although few have been sold to date, we support this disposal in principle, but only where it is warranted. Equally, we oppose such disposals if we believe that due process has not been followed, or where it is not in the interest of residents and ratepayers. A portion of Erf 1725 on Longships Drive is one such case, where we have opposed the proposed disposal, which we consider irregular and invalid on a number of grounds, and we still await a final decision. We continue to press for a clear policy on the disposal of municipal properties, based on an updated property asset register.

While considering individual properties, we regret to inform you that the municipal tender issued last year to demolish the eyesore on Erf 156 on Signal Hill failed to identify a contractor and the same tender has been issued again, for the third time, some eight years after the original court order was issued for the demolition. The Municipality’s continued inability to resolve this issue does not reflect well.

Bitou is the fastest growing population (2.7% p.a) with the highest unemployment rate (32%) in the Garden Route and a growing indigent population. These factors impose financial, social and developmental pressures on the Municipality and the community, and it is thus important for concerted efforts to reduce unemployment, through developing a business plan for the town, that supports, and is in concert with, the important tourist industry and maintains the magnificent environment and ambiance that we all enjoy.

The Plettenberg Bay Ratepayers and Residents’ Association

(PBRRA) welcomes all members and visitors.

Connect with us on info@plettratepayers.co.za