TO ALL PROPERTY OWNERS, RATEPAYERS, RESIDENTS AND FRIENDS OF KENTONON-SEA AND BUSHMAN’S RIVER, VISITORS TO OUR WONDERFUL SEASIDE PARADISE and all other interested parties regarding:
THE KENTON SAND DUNE AND THE LONG-TERM HEALTH OF THE BUSHMANS RIVER ESTUARY
The Boesmans-Kariega Estuary Care Management Forum is committed to ensuring the responsible and sustainable preservation of the Bushman’s River Estuary, our fragile ecosystems and the preservation of our pristine beaches which are the envy of many coastal cities, towns and villages countrywide.
Estuary Care has for many decades monitored and studied the dune development at the western end of Dry Bones Valley, its progression westward and northward and its impact on the health of the Bushman’s River Estuary and we are fully committed to solving this problem in a manner that does not impact on the Bushman’s River Estuary or its surroundings, that has minimal impact on the Kenton road infrastructure and does not unnecessarily burden Ratepayers for years to come.
We have been joined in our efforts to find a sustainable solution to the encroaching sand dune by six community organizations, the Kenton on Sea Ratepayers Association, Bushman’s River Mouth Ratepayers’ Organisation, Kenton/Boesmans Chamber of Business and Tourism, Nature’s Landing Homeowners’ Association and Merry Hill Property Owners’ Association and together we strongly oppose the self-serving ambitions of the Kenton Sand Dune and Nature Association (KSDNA), a NPO consisting of only 3 members and directors who are all neighbours on Lands End Road and who are dead set on pushing ahead with a project that not only suits their own personal ambitions but will change the look and feel of Kenton-onSea and the Bushman’s River mouth as we know it forever.
We appreciate and support the rights of Lands End Road residents to protect their properties against the impact of moving sand but we refuse to accept that this should be done to the detriment of all other Kenton ratepayers and property owners. Despite strong community opposition the KSDNA are determined to:
- Bulldoze the sand dune perilously close to the Bushman’s Estuary, against the prevailing westerly wind and erect obstructive and unsightly fencing and shade netting across the re-modelled dune
- Plant vegetation on the dune and use precious water to irrigate the vegetation
- Use dump trucks to transport the accumulating sand (estimated to be up to 6000m³ per annum) from the Estuary side of the now vegetated dune along a newly constructed woodchip road to the end of Westbourne Road and transport stock-piled sand from this dumping point using trucks, via our fragile road network along Westbourne Road and through Kenton, to deposit this on Middle Beach
- Burden the Ndlambe Municipality and its Ratepayers with the cost, administration, and ongoing maintenance of this system for ever
- Expose the Estuary to the ever-increasing risk of becoming blocked and closing
The ambitions of the KSDNA are in the final stages of the approval process and while their initial application for project approval has been refused by the Ndlambe Municipality this has not deterred them, and they are preparing mitigating arguments and intend to press ahead immediately if approval is granted. It is critical that we demonstrate our opposition to the KSDNA plans, bring it to the attention of the authorities and prevent a possible ecological disaster which will be hugely expensive, destructive, unsightly and dependent on timeous repeated municipal interventions for years to come, which is completely unrealistic.
THE KSDNA CLAIM THAT THEY ARE IMPLEMENTING THEIR PROJECT ON BEHALF OF THE COMMUNITY AND INSIST THAT THEY HAVE THE FULL SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY. IF YOU ARE AS CONCERNED AS WE ARE THEN REJECT THE AMBITIONS OF THE KSDNA BY SIGNING OUR PETITION:
Yours sincerely
Stuart Clarkson
On behalf of all aligned Community Organizations
