Developer can go on, if requirements are met

The developer of the planned motor city on a piece of land next to the Louis Trichardt Cricket Club can go ahead with the development as soon as they can verify whether the development requires authorization in terms of the new Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulations.

This was the recommendations of the provincial Department of Economic Development, Environment and Tourism, following their report on the investigation into the proposed development. The investigation was conducted after an objection was received from Ms Inga Gilfillan, a local member of both the Chairpersons and the Ratepayers Association, against the development. The gist of her objection was that the development is “illegal/unlawful” as it would lead to the “destruction of indigenous trees in the sensitive greenbelt area at Louis Trichardt.”

The development is to be conducted by well-known local businessman Mr Rampie Gilfillan and comprises a Ford dealership, Kia dealership, Spur, wash bays, a food court and parking bays on a 2,4 hectare piece of land adjacent to the cricket field.

In their investigation, the department indicated that according to the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA) and EIA regulations, any person undertaking a listed activity is obliged to conduct an environmental assessment to identify the development impact on the environmental quality and human life and obtain environmental authorization from the competent authority. “In the present case, the developer, Mr R Gilfillan, has consistently shown his appreciation and understanding of the requirements of environmental legislation by enquiry from the competent authority about the development/activity he wants to undertake,” the report read.

This was in response to Mr Gilfillan's obtaining a letter from the department on 23 July 2014 to inform him that the proposed development was not listed in terms of the EIA regulations as published on 18 June 2010, and as such the development deemed no environmental authorisation prior to commencement. “It should be borne in mind that the developer failed to commence with his activity/development when the EIA regulations of 18 June 2010 were still in effect, as a result he is now expected to fulfill the requirements of the [new] EIA regulations 4 December 2014 prior commencement of his activity,” the report states. This in effect means that the development cannot commence until the EIA requirements of 4 December 2014 are met.

At face value it would seem that construction work on the site has already started, without Mr Gilfillan's fulfilling the requirements of the new EIA regulations. This aspect was, however, thoroughly investigated by the department. Their investigation found that the current work on site is for the construction of seating stand for fans of the cricket club. The department also found that the clearance of the site’s grass was for routine maintenance of the cricket ground surroundings and that it does not constitute an offence in terms of NEMA. No evidence could also be found that any of the trees identified in the proposed development plan to be removed or destroyed, had as yet been destroyed. As such, the department concluded that there is no evidence to support claims that Mr Gilfillan had commenced with the “illegal” development. “The department dismisses this case because the current activities occurring at the site do not constitute an offence in terms of section 49A and others sections of NEMA,” the department concludes.

Reacting to the report and her case being dismissed, Ms Gilfillan was obviously disappointed. She said that she was not necessarily against all development, but that when development took place, people should make sure that it was done in a fair and transparent manner. That, she said, included making sure that the developer complied with all the requirements of NEMA and EIA regulations, both for present developments and future developments.

In his response to the findings of the report, Mr Gilfillan said that they had adhered to all requirements expected of them from the start. As for the new EIA regulations that came into effect in December last year, Mr Gilfillan said that they had already started the process of enquiring from the department what requirements they needed to fulfil to continue with the development. At present, he said, they were awaiting a response from the department in this regard. 

News - Date: 27 July 2015

Andries van Zyl

Andries joined the Zoutpansberger and Limpopo Mirror in April 1993 as a darkroom assistant. Within a couple of months he moved over to the production side of the newspaper and eventually doubled as a reporter. In 1995 he left the newspaper group and travelled overseas for a couple of months. In 1996, Andries rejoined the Zoutpansberger as a reporter. In August 2002, he was appointed as News Editor of the Zoutpansberger, a position he holds until today.

Email: [email protected]