CAPE TOWN – A late appeal against the Environmental Authorisation (EA) granted to Cape Winelands Airport was received and condoned by Anton Bredell, provincial minister of local government, environmental affairs and development planning last week.
Cape Winelands Airport was granted EA from the provincial department of environmental affairs and development planning (DEADP) on 27 October.
A total of six appeals were lodged, among which two poultry farmers — one of which County Fair, Garden Cities, a neighbouring developer, a neighbouring airfield, Morningstar Flyers Association, as well as five airport tenants who have jointly appealed. They are Cape Town Flight Training Centre; Diepkloof Aircraft Maintenance; 4 Aviators; Helivate Helicopter Services and WCMS CC T/A AeroSport.
The late appeal was received on 24 November and condoned by Bredell’s office on 1 December. In the appeal by the Darson Trust, trading as Aberfeldy Farm in Klipheuwel, it is stated that they have already received approval for an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for new poultry houses to expand their farming operations on their farm Kliprug, which is adjacent to the land on which the airport is proposed.
“A poultry farm should not be next to an airport due to potential biosecurity risks, disease transmission from wildlife and noise pollution that could stress the birds. It is best to choose a location away from areas with high-traffic vehicles, such as airports, industrial zones, and main roads, is stated.
Cape Winelands Airport maintains that there has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the planned airport expansion, as can be seen by multiple letters of support…
Major milestone
In response to the appeals Cape Winelands Airport says it welcomes the appeal process. The holder of the EA, Capewinelands Aero, has time to respond to the appeals by submission to DEADP by Tuesday 9 December. All responses will be submitted to the competent authority for further review and consideration.
“The approval of the EA marked a major milestone in the progression of the Cape Winelands Airport expansion project and followed an extensive environmental assessment and consultation process undertaken in full compliance with the National Environmental Management Act (NEMA). The authorisation was the culmination of more than two years of dedicated environmental planning and public participation, including four rounds of public consultation, two open days, a town-hall meeting and over 40 specialist studies assessing environmental, social and technical factors, says Deidre Davids, spokesperson for Cape Winelands Airport.
Only six appeals
Of the about 1 500 registered interested and affected parties, only six appeals were received.
“Cape Winelands Airport maintains that there has been an overwhelmingly positive response to the planned airport expansion, as can be seen by multiple letters of support,” Davids says.
“The grounds for appeal differ for each of the appellants and range from concerns about impact of noise; impact on birdlife; impact on continued operations once the airport goes into construction and socio-economic impacts.
Other grounds for appeal include sustainability and climate change, carbon emissions and impact on traffic.
“The concerns raised are largely a repeat of what have been raised previously. Throughout the four public participation process inputs were taken from interested and affected parties and specialist reports were reviewed and updated to take into account comments and inputs raised,” she says.
Responsible development
“We welcome the appeal process as an additional opportunity to provide clarity, to strengthen understanding, and to demonstrate our commitment to a responsible and sustainable development.
“We value every concern raised by our neighbours and stakeholders. Meaningful engagement is part of building an airport that integrates seamlessly with the region and contributes positively for decades to come.
“We have taken every technical concern seriously from noise modelling to aviation safety to transport planning and each has been addressed through detailed, specialist-led studies,” Davids says.
The airport has ambitious green aspirations including being one of the greenest airports in the world. It aims to be as self-sufficient as possible and will apply green principles throughout the development.
Comprehensive infrastructure
The proposed project entails the expansion of the existing Cape Winelands Airport in a phased development approach. This includes the realignment of the primary runway (01/19) and extending its length to 3,5km.
The development will also include comprehensive airside infrastructure such as taxiways, aircraft parking stands, refuelling systems and cargo facilities.
The expansion plans include a new boutique terminal building with modern facilities such as efficient check-in counters with advanced technology for swift processing and an array of retail options.
The exterior will include at-grade parking and landscaped areas to enhance the airport’s functionality and aesthetic appeal.
Plans also include hotels and a conference centre, all of which will be developed based on a solid business case to ensure long-term viability and success.
Green aspirations
“The airport has ambitious green aspirations including being one of the greenest airports in the world. It aims to be as self-sufficient as possible and will apply green principles throughout the development.
With the consistent and positive tourism growth, this airport expansion helps to ensure the city and province is able to accommodate the sustained tourism growth and helps to future proof the city,” says Davids.
Noise pollution
One of the objectors, Dr Leonard Heydenrych, says in his appeal “the constant noise created by the airport will have a profoundly negative impact on the surrounding community, but in particular on the children of Fisantekraal High School, which is situated only 1,4 km from the proposed airport”.
“This will have a profoundly negative impact on their health and study abilities,” he states. “Several factors could be identified that may endanger the surrounding community, passengers and crew. This included several geographical mountainous elevations within close proximity to the proposed runways. There is also the inevitable risk of a congested airspace due to the close proximity of the Cape Town International Airport to the proposed Cape Winelands Airport expansion. The separation between the two locations is only 24 km.”
The public participation process is defective and non-inclusive as it excluded key aviation authorities and stakeholders and withheld essential information.
He also based his appeal on the significant threat the natural birdlife of the area will pose to any jet-propelled aircraft. Also at stake are critically endangered indigenous vegetation and the effect on sustainability and climate change, he states.
Light pollution
County Fair poultry farming operation states in its appeal the landside developments will be immediately adjacent to and in very close proximity to the nearest chicken houses and that it will not be possible for the expanded airport and its poultry operations to coexist due to noise disturbance and dust pollution. Light pollution was identified as a major concern for its laying stock.
Flight activities
The grounds of appeal of Morningstar Flyers Association is that there is inadequate assessment of safety impacts of the flight activities from Cape Winelands Airport on surrounding commercial and recreational aviation activities that make use of the uncontrolled airspace currently in existence for the purpose of, among others, flight training and fire and rescue operations.
“The public participation process is defective and non-inclusive as it excluded key aviation authorities and stakeholders and withheld essential information. There is an absence of adequate conditions of authorisation that mitigate the impact of the CWA on existing aviation activities, it states.
They say the aviation community was not properly consulted and that their concerns were ignored. “The airspace will compromise recreational aviation, a simple flight from Morningstar to Stellenbosch Airfield will become problematic.”
Richard Summers Incorporated, acting on behalf of Cape Town Flight Training Centre, Diepkloof Aircraft Maintenance, Aviators, Helivate Helicopter Services and WCMS CC T/A AeroSport, state in their appeal that there is no assessment of socio-economic impacts of the CWA development on their operations. “Due to the failure to identify, evaluate and assess the socio-economic impact of the airport development on these appellants, there is an absence of mitigation measures proposed and endorsed as conditions of authorisation to safeguard their interests.”
Greenville development
The developer Garden Cities states in its appeal that the proposed airport will particularly have an adverse impact on the Greenville development. The Garden Cities Greenville development will contribute over 5 000 government subsidised houses. “As such the Garden Cities Greenville development is a significant contributing factor in addressing Cape Town’s housing crisis and providing much-needed housing. The Greenville development is directly impacted by the airport by, among others, long-term and irreversible aviation noise impacts. The proposed airport will impact adversely not only on the sustainability of Garden Cities’ operations, but also on the local communities’ right to adequate housing and a healthy environment,” is stated. Other negative impacts include increased traffic, noise and dust pollution and an influx of job seekers and a potential increase in local crime.
Correction
This article has been ammended.
TygerBurger incorrectly reported on this last week and apologises for the mistakes.
Some of the mistakes include that Stellenbosch Flying Club has appealed, although they have not. There were also no appeals from the wine industry, Birdlife South Africa or Paardeberg Conservancy, as well as no groups representing local communities. The school community of Fisantekraal High School has also not raised concerns about noise pollution.
“It is also not correct that business groups and farmers fear negative effects on their operations. If anything, we have strong support from farmers and the local businesses,” Davids says.
