Meadowridge housing plan draws fire
Meadowridge residents are unhappy about plans for a 32-unit, double-storey terraced housing development in the area.
A development application seeks to rezone and subdivide the vacant site off the M3 and create private road access from Conmead Road.
The public have until Thursday February 6 to comment on the plan.
The property, which comprises three plots (erven 5797, 13971, 13972), is directly across from the Constantia Emporium. It was awarded as restitution to the Adams and Kherekar families, who were dispossessed under Apartheid.
The developers of Villa Constance want to rezone erf 13972 from Community 1: Local (CO1) to Single Residential 1 (SR1), and subdivide for the “medium densified” 32 units with property sizes ranging between 92m² to 230m² and 67 parking bays, with 20 of them for visitors.
The application seeks a right-of-way servitude over erven 13971 and 5797 for a “private road” gated access from Conmead Road, essentially extending the road into the south end of the property.
The triangular wedge the property sits on is earmarked as a new development area in the City’s Southern District Plan, the application says, adding, that the “future of this precinct will see an extension of Conmead Road linking to Kendal Road, completing the southern leg of a four-legged intersection”, and that “should development of the sites north of the concerned erven take place, access from the north (from Kendal Road) will require exploration and traffic impact statement”.
The application argues the proposed development promotes housing opportunities, catering to a larger population, and diversified housing that is more affordable than the current housing stock found in the area, but residents say they are appalled at what they feel is a lack of community consultation.
Only 12 of 23 residents “deemed by the City” to be directly impacted by the application were notified, said Alan Swift, of Conmead Road.
“This limited notification completely omitted the broader Stratford and Miranda Way as well as Castleview, Docav and Conmead roads resident community who will be materially affected by this specific development in the short term from the date of commencement of construction and over the long term as other developments are undertaken.”
As the application alluded to a second potential development on a similar scale within the “land triangle”, Mr Swift said its approval would set a precedent for future similar medium-density housing developments.
Most residents were not opposed to “reasonable densification and development” but felt they needed more information on the City’s long-term plans, particularly their impact on municipal infrastructure, to assess the full impact of the application, he said.
And the “development of dedicated road infrastructure via Kendal Road” should be considered as a prerequisite for any proposed developments and should exclude a linking or extension of Conmead Road through to Kendal Road,“ he said.
Bergvliet Meadowridge Ratepayers’ Association chairperson Keith Barton said the application was “inconsistent with the District Spatial Development Framework plans that designate this portion land for low density residential development, not for medium density housing”.
Lower density group housing was more in line with the style of housing clusters already in the suburb, he added.
The civic group believes the site should be rezoned as “Group Residential” (GR1) not split into 32 “single residential” (SR1) plots.
“This is clearly intended as a group housing project with a single gated private access road. GR1 zoning will ensure that each dwelling has to have a certain portion of open space allocated to it and promotes unity of architectural and visual style. It also safeguards against the right to build second and third dwellings on SR1 plots, which would be between 100m² and 200m² in area at the outset,” said Mr Barton.
The association understood that the larger triangle of open land was divided into several portions with different owners so could not make informed comments about some aspects of the application without more information on future plans for the whole site, he said.
Mayoral committee member for spatial planning and environment Eddie Andrews said the owners of the immediately surrounding properties and the properties along Conmead Road had been notified.
“Thirty-eight parties were notified: nine via registered mail and 29 via email. The advertising also included the ward councillor, Bergvliet/Meadowridge Ratepayers’ Association, sub-council, press adverts and on-site notices.”
The land use management department was not aware of any discussions regarding any development of surrounding properties, he said.
"A very basic contextual layout plan has been provided as part of the motivation document, but has no legal status. However, each application, when submitted, will be assessed on its own merits and will require a public participation process.“
