As per the Constitution members are welcome to attend all Exco meetings - the next meeting is scheduled for Saturday 24 June 2023 at 11 am
Contact: [email protected] if you would like to attend 

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Following on from the recent publishing of the detailed notes of our RERA2023 Open Meeting, we have specific news of progress in our ongoing efforts to preserve our town and its surrounds from the threat of suburbanisation.
RERA is delighted to report that, after many months of lobbying and collaborative working with our Overstrand Municipality (OM) , our efforts to further protect Rooiels and our surrounding nature have achieved real success.


Deep within the recently approved OM’s INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PLAN REVIEW 2023 TO 2024 on page 50 you’ll find the section on PLANNING FOR ROOIELS. There it states under the title Protection of the Environment: “RENR (Rooiels Nature Reserve): the areas around the coast, at the Kopje and on the Rooiels River estuary (all currently zoned for nature) are to be officially proclaimed as protected nature reserve and included as an extension of the Rooiels Nature Reserve.”


Furthermore, under Protection of the Environment and Character of the Area, the Hangklip Conservation Overlay Zone for protecting dark skies in our three villages is to be adopted and the section also notes that: the RECOZ Heritage Overlay Zone is to be adopted and extended to all of Rooiels.


Contents

• Enhanced protection for Rooiels in the IDP Review
  
• More Feedback
  
• Call for volunteers to tackle Silky hakeas on Klein Hangklip range
  
• How to give …
  

Committee contacts

• RERA: [email protected]
  
• REC: [email protected]
  
• RESA: [email protected]
  

On page141 it confirms that the Rooiels Estuary Management Plan is in the process of finalisation by Province, along with others like the Buffels, Klein and Bot.


And on page 261 it notes that: “Key to the future of Rooiels is to protect the vast environmental resources within and surrounding the settlement. The unique characteristics of Rooiels include its location along the coastline within a pristine natural setting.” “A New Urban Development area (was) proposed on the southern periphery of the settlement (of Rooiels). The land area  (on Erf 324) is ± 1.12ha in extent (and) was included by realignment of the urban edge with the coastal management line. However, the historical subdivision of the project has (now definitely) been cancelled. It is arranged that the area be a protected area. Development of this area therefore (is) no longer an option.”


One could say that a scorecard of the Integrated Planning Review might read:


Nature 5: Urban creep 0!


These rulings have been won by several years of continuous and very diligent Exco effort by RERA and REC and our colleagues in Pringle and Betty’s Bay. The work has at last yielded increased legal and thus real protection for the nature we all live within. We hope this delights you as much as it does your 2023 RERA Exco. We are grateful to the OM executive and their advisers for their farsightedness and wisdom in making these decisions.



More feedback


The recent heavy rains have created significant damage and Betty's Bay and Pringle Bay were/are particularly badly affected putting a strain on OM Kleinmond services.  Reports from the Councillor and OM have been shared on Rooiels Communications and OM are hoping for some assistance from the Provincial Disaster Management team.  They have asked all residents for their patience and understanding as they try to repair damaged roads as soon as possible.


The progress on illegal developments which RERA has raised with authorities is slow, but we are assured, steady. You might be interested to learn that on legal breaches RERA cannot get involved beyond reporting and enquiring. There are relevant legal cases currently on the Municipal Court Roll and some engagement of different agencies with owners to try to rehabilitate the natural fynbos where possible.


The OM have also asked all residents to download the CollabCitizen App to facilitate quicker and more responsive service delivery and to build evidence of demand. You can download the App for free on either Google Play or the Apple Play Store. The requests for Tankers and all other service requests can best be made through the app, which allows you then to track the response and timing of service on the App.


Please note that all service requests relating to your property must be reported either on the CollabCitizen App or directly to the OM Kleinmond (028-271-8400) and a reference number obtained.  If you would like RERA to follow up because of non-response, please can you be sure to provide the reference number. RERA will take up Issues involving general infrastructure or impacting nature (i.e. not related to individual properties) as soon as we are alerted, but it’s vital those directly affected also report it to OM directly, not least to provides additional weight to RERA requests for speedy resolution.


All on RERA 2023 wish you as warm and dry a winter as possible!


Piet and the team


Piet van Rensburg Chair and OM Ward Representative
Andre Roothman Co-Vice Chair
Achim Halpaap        Co Vice Chair
Eldie Brink        Secretary
Lesley Lundie Treasurer
Tom Baigrie
And co-opted member:
Anuta Scholz



REC calls for volunteers to tackle Hakea sericea infestation on Klein Hangklip range
The Rooiels Conservancy is calling for volunteers to tackle the spreading silky hakea infestation on the eastern slopes of the coastal range between the watershed and the R44. We want to mobilise a special team for these hacks which will fall outside the traditional 1st-Saturday-of-each-month hacks. Volunteers should be relatively fit. Contact Gavin Lundie on +27 82 900 3173 if interested.


Photo: Dense infestation on an inaccessible mountain slope.The Guide to Biological Control of Alien Hakea Species, Plant Protection Research Institute.

HOW TO GIVE


Don’t forget to pay your membership fees for 2023! Thank you to those who have already paid and a huge thank you to those who have so generously donated additional funds.


Rooiels has three member-based associations which depend on membership fees and donations. They are the Rooiels Ratepayers Association (RERA), the Rooiels Conservancy (REC)), and the Rooiels Security Association (RESA . All three organisations work for the common interest in Rooiels. The 2023 annual membership fees are R250 for RERA, R250 for REC and R2000 for RESA.