Scoping process for expansive project
The Small Boat Harbour scoping process facilitator, Mike Cohen, said there appeared to be some confusion as to the environmental process and the open day to be held on Saturday, May 18.
According to Cohen, the Draft Scoping Report for the proposed construction and operation of a small-boat harbour and a landside development in Plettenberg Bay has been released, a copy of which has been placed in the Plettenberg Bay Library.
All registered interested and affected parties were sent emails informing them of the availability of the report and links to download the report online.
“The purpose of a scoping report is to provide stakeholders with an overview of the project and invite early input from stakeholders in the identification of key issues, areas of concern and additional environmental data available in order to inform the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process,” said Cohen.
According to him, the main objectives of this scoping exercise are to provide an overview description of the proposed project; review existing sources of information and present an overview of the environment in the project area; identify what are viewed to be the key areas of potential impact associated with the project and outline supporting studies included within the EIA programme to address these issues further; and outline the plan of study to be followed during the EIA process.
The open day is an opportunity for interested and affected parties to interact on a one-on-one basis with members of the professional team and the independent environmental consultants.
“Unlike a public meeting, there is no agenda and interested parties can pop in at any time between 09:00 and 14:00. We will have a copy of the report and all the appendices on hand and have asked the specialists to prepare posters depicting aspects of the development. Open houses give more people an opportunity to offer comments without the pressure of public presentation – participants have the opportunity to talk in small groups and to exchange ideas, a process which is often hindered in a public meeting.
This format allows participation by all types of people with all types of communication styles and prevents any one interest from dominating. It has been found that better information is obtained one-on-one or in small groups than in large meetings. The open house format also allows the team to respond better to individual questions and concerns,” explained Cohen.
The open day on May 18 will be the first of two planned open days, the second to be held once the draft Environmental Impact Assessment is released.
“We suggest that you review as a minimum the executive summary of the scoping report and let us have your thoughts on any gaps that there may be in our identification of potential impacts. If you think we have missed an important specialist investigation or if our terms of reference needs amendment, please bring this to our attention. If you cannot attend or would prefer not to attend the open day we would urge you to send in written comment. Your input is vital to making this a comprehensive investigation,” concluded Cohen.
According to the executive summary, the scale of the proposed residential and commercial development is a whopping 87 000m² distributed as follows:
* 482 residential units in eight separate buildings with heights ranging from three to seven floors, and with a total floor space of 64 049m²;
* The top floors of certain of the residential blocks to have 10 penthouses totalling 1 400m²;
* Offices and commercial space totalling 1 343m²;
* A total of 17 bungalows are proposed along the Central Beach strip with the total land area occupied being 4 080m²;
* A 110-room five-star hotel of approximately 6 600m²;
* Retail and commercial space along the Northern shore totalling 8 700m²;
* A plaza, yacht club, NSRI facility and general use areas totalling 1 450m²;
* Provision for light industry which would probably be fishing orientated with 750m² provided;
* Parking within or below the buildings with 644 parking bays over an area of 16 068m² and public open parking to be provided alongside the various buildings. Total parking, including beach parking is estimated at 1 504 bays.
People have raised concerns about the impact on the use of Central Beach for recreational activities such as swimming and snorkelling. There are also concerns as to the impact on tourism during the construction process, which could be lengthy owing to the scale of development proposed.
According to the scoping report, “The economic impact assessment evaluated the balance between financial benefits and costs, and found that although the achieving of profits for some can come at an unacceptable cost to wider society, the overall balance is in favour of the small boat harbour and marina project – this is based upon the information and undertakings which have been provided by the developer.”
The executive summary can be viewed online at www.plettskiboatclub.co.za/knowledgebase/proposedplettsmallboatharbourdraftingreport.
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Source: Knysna-Plett Herald