DONDERDAG, 10 OKTOBER 2013
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DistriksPOS HARTKLOP VAN DIE HELDERBERG
Blue Flag
Tref en trap
Cricket
Prestigious accolade for Bikini Beach PG 3
Verdagte dalk binnekort agter tralies BL 5
Helderberg’s cricket clubs ready for season PG 28
New town on its way DALEEN FOUCHÉ
A
whole new town with 14 000 houses and 120 hectares of retail and industrial space will be built on the old AECI land outside Somerset West over the next 15 to 20 years, irrevocably changing the face of the Helderberg. The land will be developed in six phases, with the first phase between the wetlands and De Beers Avenue already under construction. This phase is called the “De Beers Precinct” and will see the establishment of 500 upmarket homes, a 100-bed private hospital and a private day hospital. The De Beers Precinct includes light industrial and retail developments totalling ten hectares. The property arm of AECI, Heartland Properties, is handling the planning and release of the old AECI land, known as Paardevlei. The total extent of land to be released for development is 730 hectares. The original size of AECI’s land-holding in Somerset West was 1 000 hectares, but the company has already sold 270 hectares for several developments that included the Somerset Mall, Somerset Business Park, Waterstone Village and the De Velde and Schonenberg Estate housing developments. AECI manufactured explosives but has been selling its land off for development since manufacturing stopped. Well-known property economist Erwin Rode of Rode and Associates says the Paardevlei development is one of the biggest developments in the Cape Peninsula. For comparison, the 730 hectares of Paardevlei dwarf the 246 hectares of Parklands, termed the “fastest-growing sub-
urb in Cape Town”. Rode says that Somerset West is one of the very few areas in the Cape Peninsula where expansion is possible. He adds that Paardevlei has a single property owner, AECI, planning the “mega-development”, and thus the planning can be more thorough than Parklands was. Rode says that while jobs will be created during the construction phases of the development, he cannot say the development itself will create further jobs. He says that because the development will be “self-servicing” in terms of shopping centres and light industrial development, the new residents will probably not spend their money in the Somerset West CBD. Chantelle Mathomes, Heartland Properties’marketingmanager,saysthatthe De Beers Precinct already received all approvals for development in 2007. But some developers who bought into the precinct have only started developing now due to the positive turn in the construction industry following the recession. Mathomes says that the private hospital to be situated in the De Beers District will be run by Busamed Holdings. The private day hospital, comprising three theatres and 30 day beds, will be managed by Cure Day Clinics and will be accompanied by a specialist eye clinic. The day hospital will be open for business in September 2014. The De Beers precinct currently has several heritage buildings, which will be protected, and the Flagstone Winery, Triggerfish Micro-Brewery, and cheetah sanctuary will remain on the site. The Paardevlei development will need new roads and infrastructure, and there is talk of a new bus service and railway station. Turn to page 4 for more details.
TRAFFIC HELD UP AFTER COLLISION: Two trucks and a bakkie collided on Sir Lowry’s Pass at 13:45 on Tuesday (8 October) afternoon. According to the Gordon’s Bay police, a truck, which came down Sir Lowry’s Pass en route to Gordon’s Bay, veered out of control after its axle broke off. The truck then crashed into a second truck and a Toyota Hilux bakkie coming up the pass. The driver of the second truck, Paulus le Qunie (51) from Firgrove, was trapped in the cab of the truck and had to be freed by members of Metro EMS before being transported to Mediclinic Vergelegen. Thomas Phiri, the driver of the first truck, sustained minor injuries. According to the Gordon’s Bay Traffic Department, motorists on the N2 were confronted by heavy traffic congestion until 22:30 on Tuesday evening due to the closure of two lanes in the direction of Grabouw and one lane in the direction of Somerset West. The truck was eventually removed from the road between 21:30 and 22:00. PHOTO: JAMEY THOMAS