Phelamanga was appointed to assist with the Public Participation activities linked to the Application for Environmental Authorisation for the Proposed Cato Ridge Land Use Options Project.
The Cato Ridge Development Company Ltd (“CRDC”) and Assmang (Pty) Limited (“Assmang”), proposed to release land parcels across three (3) Proposed Development Areas (Figure 1). The intention is to make land available for a combination of land use options in the Cato Ridge area for future developers to develop / construct. The proposed project is located within the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu Natal. Zutari (Pty) Ltd (“Zutari”) has been appointed as the Environmental Assessment Practitioner (EAP) to undertake the regulatory Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, and Phelamanga has been appointed to assist and facilitate the Public Participation Process (PPP). The land parcels identified are owned by CRDC and Assmang. The landholdings are located north of the N3 Corridor, which forms part of the national Strategic Integrated Project 2 (SIP 2: Durban-Free State-Gauteng) and is located within eThekwini’s Primary Corridor and within a proposed logistics hub as per the eThekwini Local Area Plan (LAP). Cato Ridge has been identified as a potential industrial and logistics node and falls under the KZN Industrial and Logistics Hub (Region 1). The suitability of the land for logistics and manufacturing development is based on the proximity to the railway line, the N3 national road and the fact that it is located on the Harrison Flats (one of the few plateaus in the area). The proposed project is in its early planning phases with conceptual layout plans available. It is the intention of Assmang and CRDC to make land available for sale to prospective developers, should authorisation be obtained for the specific activities to be undertaken. The application for authorisation for the proposed Cato Ridge land use options project will include the following land uses: Commercial, Educational Institutes, Medical Facilities, Offices, Retail, Parks and Conservation Area, Light Industrial, Warehousing & Logistics, Manufacturing & Processing. It is anticipated that the proposed Cato Ridge land use options project would serve as a catalyst for investment to address the shortage of bulk infrastructure and provide economic opportunities to the wider community. The project would be phased over 5 -10 years, based on market demand and interested investors and developers.
While CRDC/Assmang are the applicants for the Environmental Authorisation (EA) process, the land will be made available for sale to the respective developers going forward. Each future development will require a detailed legal review to ensure alignment of the site-specific EIAs with the confitions of Environmental Authorisation and the Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) for this project. Additional permits and licenses that may be required for the final land uses remains the responsibility of the future property owner and developer.
The EIA Process has concluded and the Environmental Authorisation was given to the site. The authorisation is available at the following link:
Department Environmental Authorisation 2023.10.16. Cato Ridge EA (2 704 KB)