Questions and concerns raised in public information session

MOSSEL BAY NEWS - More than 120 members of the public, including the residents and property owners of Aalwyndal, gathered in the Mossel Bay Town Hall on Tuesday 16 September for a highly anticipated public information session about the potential development of the Aalwyndal area.

Public comments were brought forward to Carel Venter, Director of Planning and Economic Development, and Jaco Roux, Manager of Town Planning, in the Mossel Bay Municipality, several environmental consultants who worked on the biodiversity study and representatives of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP).

During the meeting, which was also livestreamed on the municipality's Facebook page, it was reiterated that the biodiversity offset investigation is currently a draft and that public opinion would be taken into consideration before the study was finalised.

Questions and concerns
Several questions and concerns were raised during the session, including allegations that residents and property owners were not properly consulted prior to Tuesday evening or when the biodiversity study began.

According to the municipality, the first communication regarding the Aalwyndal Precinct Plan and the biodiversity study was mentioned in a municipal newsletter, released in September 2024.

Residents also strongly opposed the possibility of financially contributing to a conservation levy if new developments were to take place.

The levy would go towards managing the area's conservation. Many emphasised that they were not against the conservation of the fauna and flora in Aalwyndal, but that the developers and the municipality should rather pay the levies. "No one wants to give away half of their property and still pay an additional fee," said the residents.

A prominent point of dissatisfaction among the residents and property owners was the allegation that the potential development in Aalwyndal is actually a political agenda.

One resident claimed that a few years ago, Aalwyndal had not been classified as 'highly sensitive' and was allegedly deemed worthless, but was now being considered valuable enough for development by the municipality.

Dr Jackie Dabrowski, aquatic specialist and project leader of the biodiversity study, responded by saying there was no agenda and that Aalwyndal was not the only area in Mossel Bay undergoing biodiversity offsets.

She added that Aalwyndal is considered highly sensitive due to the presence of animals and vegetation on the land.

'Land-grab' concerns
A recurring discussion was whether the residents could choose to exclude themselves from the municipality's development plans and decide on their own if they want to develop their properties.

Prior to the information session, Venter and Roux appeared on the municipality's podcast to discuss the Aalwyndal development and curb misinformation.

Roux explained that the offset investigation was aimed at helping not only those residents who want to develop their land, but also those who did not want to, and said there is no intention to 'land-grab'.

"All the proposals are draft proposals to start off with, which through this public participation process can change, might change and will probably change. You don't have to get involved with this. As an owner you can live on your property. It is your property - you paid for it a long time ago, or just yesterday. You're paying taxes and can just be a regular resident of Aalwyndal. It's up to you. Neither the municipality nor the province wants to take owners' land in Aalwyndal," he said.

Biodiversity study draft now available
Mossel Bay Advertiser previously reported that some residents (who wished to remain anonymous) said they were not necessarily against any development in Aalwyndal, but that they only wanted the release of the latest information regarding the biodiversity study so they could contact the investors and get ready for the public information session.

However, some residents have expressed that they would prefer for Aalwyndal to be left alone.

The study was made available to residents and property owners in Aalwyndal in August, following concerns and claims that the delay was holding up these individuals' own property plans.

The residents and owners claim they had asked the municipality for the biodiversity study a year ago, but allegedly received vague responses about its availability.

"25 August was the first time we received answers from the municipality," said the residents at the meeting.

The documents, consisting of five reports, can now be viewed and inspected at the town planning division of the municipality, as well as on the municipal website under 'Town Planning', as the 'Draft Aalwyndal Offset Investigation 2025'.

Submitting comments
Written comments can be addressed to the Municipal Manager, Colin Puren, at PO Box 25, Mossel Bay, 6500, or admin@mosselbay.gov.za, on or before 30 September, for the attention of Jaco Roux. Comments must quote your name, address and contact details, interest in the matter and motivation. Enquiries can be put to Roux on 044 606 5071 or jroux@mosselbay.gov.za. Any person who cannot write will be assisted by a municipal official, by transcribing their comments.

Previous articles:

‘We bring you the latest Garden Route, Hessequa, Karoo news’