George Municipality responds to petition against new proposed development

The George Municipality in the Western Cape has responded to a petition against a proposed new development for the Garden Route Dam.

Residents and environmental groups have petitioned against the proposed new development of commercial, residential, and tertiary institution as part of this 118-hectare development.

A Draft Environmental Impact Assessment Report has been made available for comment before the second round of public participation.

George Municipal spokesperson Chantel Edwards says the Eden Municipal Tribunal will evaluate all legislated processes before any authorisations.

“Neither the George Council nor any official will undertake any authorisation at all. It must be noted that both authorisations must be in place for any development to go ahead. If either one of the applications are refused, then the other cannot succeed. The town planning application will only be submitted to the Tribunal for consideration once DEADP has issued their decision. Once the decisions have been made, both processes allow for a 21-day appeals period.”