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| The changing faces of the Bot River Estuary Mouth, now blanketed under desert sand.... |
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| .... and then awash with kelp, green slime and miles of water! |
The
Western Cape Provincial Government are pursuant in establishing public access through Middlevlei through
legally compliant terms, in accordance with the Integrated Coastal
Management Act, 2008 (ICM Act 24 of 2008). Many meetings have taken
place between the various parties. For insight into the recent history,
see the letter from Minister Anton Bredell to Mr Anton Meyer, Communications Officer of the Hawston Development Association and the Paddavlei Wetlands Group (PEG).
The following document was circulated by the Western Cape Provincial Government in preparation for a stakeholder workshop held on 20 November 2018.
To better understand the legal process it is important to read the above document. The workshop was chaired by Mr Errol Serff, the consultant commissioned by Western Cape Provincial Government, to drive the initial phase of this process.
There were initially four options mentioned in the relevant document. At the workshop two more options were added, namely a No Go option and a boardwalk and pontoon from Rooisand to the beach. The management of Middlevlei HOA sent through comment prior to the meeting and several members of MHOA attended the meetings.
The morning meeting was attended by several members from Middlevlei HOA, as well as the developer, Theo Steinmann. No representatives from Hawston were present. Megan Campbell wrote up brief notes which highlight some important points.
The following are photographs of the boards giving the pros and cons relating to each of the options discussed:
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
Option 5
Option 6
Errol Serff stressed that this workshop was to gauge
the opinions of all the stakeholders, nothing more. It is an ongoing process and there
will be other meetings where people can give comment. Most importantly,
the draft bylaw that government is basing this action on will need
comment from us when it reaches the stage before promulgation.
The following are photographs of the boards giving the pros and cons relating to each of the options discussed:
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
Option 4
Option 5
Option 6
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| Middlevlei parking area under water with artificial breach taking place 2008-09-29 |
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| Flocks of red-knobbed coots in September 2008 before being washed out to sea. |
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| Flamingos and oyster catchers are frequent residents at the Bot River Estuary |
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| Sunset looking out from under the washed away bridge 2018-12-05 |
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| After the 2008 breach, a large portion of the bridge washed away and massive section of dune carved away |
