Cape Town - Boschendal wine estate’s plan for an upmarket residential and shopping hub, which detractors say will come at the expense of previously disadvantaged communities in the Dwars River Valley, is to face some hefty opposition from churches, trusts and prominent residents.
The plan, panned as reintroducing “apartheid-style residential patterns” and completely disregarding restitution issues, replaces the estate’s application of more than a decade ago, and appears to backtrack on agreements with residents of the towns of Pniel, Johannesdal, Lanquedoc and Kylemore.
Boschendal is South Africa’s second oldest wine estate, and acquired new owners in 2012. Previous plans for the land came courtesy of negotiations which Anglo American began in 2000, when Anglo American Farms first decided to shed what it termed non-core assets.
Documents released for comment and objections show a development comprising a mix of residential development, small artisan and deli shops, a farmers’ market, speciality shops for tourists and residents, commercial opportunities, and tourist accommodation.
The area is zoned agricultural, and if the application is approved, will turn the land in question into an urban node at the intersection of the R45 and the R300.
Rob Lundie, chief executive of Boschendal, said the new owners’ approach, specifically the decision to depart from the previous plan, was the result of previous developers failing to achieve “the aspirations of extensive development, despite many years of planning”.
The stated objective of this development, he said, was “to restore and develop a sustainable farm which, among other things, will uplift the community, benefit its staff, protect the environment and the historical importance of the farm”.
They had already “invested substantially in agriculture, hospitality and job creation”, creating more than 200 new jobs in Dwars River communities, building new restaurants, a conference facility, and planting up more than 200ha, including a 2ha vegetable garden, Lundie said.
The project’s detractors, many of whom have lodged written objections or registered as interested and affected parties, include the Boschendal Treasury Trust, the Lanquedoc Housing Association, the Kylemore Rugby Football Club, the Presbyterian Church, St Giles Church, the Reformed Old Apostolic Church, the Pniel Congregational Church, and several prominent local residents.
Their complaints include a lack of consultation with local communities, and claims that the development carried with it potentially negative socio-economic consequences.
They also cited the reversion to “apartheid style residential patterns”, and a complete disregard by the new owners for a social compact with local communities, which was grounded in restitution, transformation and long-term sustainability.
When Anglo American Farms sold all its properties in the Dwars River Valley in 2000, it opened the door to the establishment of a community-driven, socio-economic development initiative.
Together with Anglo American Farms, local communities of Pniel/Johannesdal, Kylemore, Lanquedoc and Meerlust, as well as the Stellenbosch Municipality and Citation Holdings (then owners of the estate), embarked on what became known as the Boschendal Sustainable Development Initiative (SDI). The initiative gave birth to the Boschendal Treasury Trust, which was intended to safeguard the previously disadvantaged residents of the Dwars River Valley.
As one of the primary objectors to the proposed new development, the trust accuses the new owners of reneging on their commitments to the communities.
The estate had, consequently, failed to “unlock the potential of the land, generate meaningful benefits for both socio-economic development and environmental rehabilitation, implement a viable and sustainable property development, preserve the social, natural and cultural heritage in a sustainable and integrated manner, and form meaningful partnerships with the relevant authorities and other stakeholders”.
In its objection, the trust states specifically that neither it, its beneficiaries, nor the previously disadvantaged residents of the Dwars River Valley had been consulted about the proposed development.
This, it said, pointed to bad faith on the part of the new owners. It also said that scaling down the proposed development allowed the new owners to sidestep their “commitments in terms of the SDI to the trust and the previously disadvantaged communities” of the area.
Chris Nissen, the former chairman of Boschendal who was central to crafting the social compact which was intended to benefit local communities, on Friday called the plans for the new development “a total betrayal of all the empowerment and social upliftment goals of the Boschendal Sustainable Development Initiative, which will severely affect the intended beneficiaries”.
Weekend Argus