TRUP Members Update 5 January 2017 | Two Rivers Urban Park

TRUP Association Member’s Update Dec ’16/Jan ‘17

1. Thanks to all who attended the AGM held 1 November 2016, and the River Club, who generously provided the venue and refreshments. It was encouraging to have four Councillors in attendance, and to receive unanimous support for the ‘Scenario C:

Preserved Park” which is a “work in progress”, produced by the various constituencies comprising the TRUP Association. ‘Scenario C: Preserved Park’ supports the TRUP Association mandate to maintain the park as one integrated, undivided green space, allowing for sensitive minimal development within its boundaries, with all other development around the edges of the park. This scenario aims to ensure that the character of the park is not compromised, rather it is upgraded and reclaimed as a natural environmental heritage treasure for all citizens to enjoy.

The Observatory Civic Association is hosting a “Focus Evening” on the TRUP developments. Should you wish to become more informed on current status of development proposals and processes within the TRUP, please feel welcome to attend the meeting:

Wednesday 18 January 2017

at 18h00

NA Room, 1st Floor Observatory Community Centre

For more information, contact Carolyn Neville on carolyn@neville.za.net

TRUP Association Member’s Update [5] Dec ’16/Jan ‘17

Wednesday 18 January 2017

at 18h00

NA Room, 1st Floor Observatory Community Centre

For more information, contact Carolyn Neville on carolyn@neville.za.net

2. The “Two Rivers Urban Park Cape Town Baseline Heritage Study including

erven Oude Molen Erf 26439 RE Alexandra Erf 24290 RE Valkenburg Erf

26439 RE, erven 118877,160695 The Observatory erf 26423-0-1 River Club

erf 151832 Ndabeni Erf 103659-0-2 RE” has been completed by Melanie

Attwell, and is available for public review at

https://www.westerncape.gov.za/files/hia_reduced_0.pdf

Feedback must be directed to Sabina Favaro <sabina@sundevelopment.co.za> of SUN Development by Tuesday 31st January 2017.

3. The Revised Draft Scoping Report for the re-development of the River

Club has been released by SRK Consulting. Please find the report at http://www.srk.co.za/en/za-

redevelopment-river-club-observatory-cape-town . Please note that the commenting period closes 10 February 2017. Comments must be submitted to ahill@srk.co.za

The River Club will also host a Public Open Day, 15h00-19h00, Wed 25 Jan 2017.

The River Club will also host a Specialist Presentations Evening, 18h00-20h00, Wed 1 Feb 2017.

We encourage you to “register” with SRK, as whilst the TRUP Association will endeavour to keep you informed, SRK note that “only registered stakeholders will be notified of future meetings and opportunities to provide comment on relevant documentation“.

4. The TRUP Association has proposed an

alternative site for the location of the Square

Kilometer Array (SKA) International Operations

Centre. The SKA is presently being considered

for development on Erf Number 151833, owned

by the National Research Foundation and

located at the entrance to the River Club.

This is within the 1:100 year floodplain and involves the hardening of greenfields land through an increased building footprint within the TRUP area.

Given the plans for the construction of a new Valkenberg Hospital entrance off Liesbeek Ave, it is proposed by the TRUP Association that the SKA rather be located on the existing entrance to Valkenberg Hospital.

In terms of the development process to date, the TRUP Association has:

– Engaged with the SKA General Manager: Site Operations and Infrastructure, in order to understand the needs

for the Operations Centre;

– Engaged with the River Club, in order to understand their development intentions and aspirations.

– Engaged with senior representatives from Valkenberg Hospital.

5. The provincial Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEA&DP), led by Mr Gerhard Gerber, Director: Development Facilitation, have taken over the responsibility of this “TRU-Park” development process. (This process being formally managed through the provincial Department of Transport and Public Works prior to the retirement of Mr Francois Joubert earlier this year).

6. After a two month break, two further 9th TRU-Park and Ndabeni Workshops were held (facilitated by SUN Development public participation consultants).

Once again they were held at Pinelands Methodist Church hall (3rd and 10th

November 2016). There were four presentations each evening. It was difficult

to document the key points articulated by the specialists, and you are

encouraged to review their presentations online

(https://www.westerncape.gov.za/general-publication/two-rivers-urban-

park-%E2%80%93-towards-sustainable-integrated-urban-development ).

A few points that raised concern as articulated at the meetings were:

Ecologically:

o Whilst the environmental baseline specialist reported a few pockets of

“high ecological sensitivity”, and wider areas with “medium to high”

sensitivity, there was mostly a note of “increased degradation of the area

over the last fifteen years, with the area no longer having a “highly

sensitive” status as reported in earlier studies for the area. Obviously

there is an urgent need for active steps to be taken to safeguard and restore the “highly sensitive” assets as defined in the original research reports fifteen years ago.

Transport/Traffic:

In order to improve East-West movement, current proposals for the area include:

o The building of a road corridor linking Berkley Road and Malta Road;

o The building of a road corridor (understood as being proposed as a purely public transport and non-motorised transport road corridor) from Perseverance Road (the southern extent of Maitland Garden Village) with Station Road (via Observatory Road). This replacing the former footbridge originally connecting these communities, which was removed by the province during the M5 road widening linked to the Koeberg Interchange development around 2011).

There was some concern from the floor, that this proposal would effectively divide the Park in half, potentially compromising the character for the area.

Catalysts for development within TRUP:

o The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) International Operations Centre, and the Biovac extension and Pharmaceutical Health Park were being seen by the authorities as such “catalysts”.

o The location presently being researched for possible future development of the SKA is across the existing entrance to the River Club. The Biovac extension and Pharmaceutical Health Park is presently being explored for development across a significant portion of Oude Molen.

7. Whilst dates for 2017 have not yet been confirmed, SUN Development proposed a “Co-design Workshop: towards a shared and preferred scenario” for next TRU-Park and Ndabeni Workshops for Saturday 18th February 2017. Please keep that date free in your diaries in order to ensure your views are part of this process!

Yours Sincerely, Hudson McComb (TRUP Association 2017 Chair)