FINAL DRAFT DANNHAUSER MUNICIPAL HOUSING PLAN 1. INTRODUCTION: 1.1 Maseko Hlongwa and Associates (in association with SRK Consulting) was appointed, in September 2005, to assist the Dannhauser Municipality with the preparation of a Municipal Housing Plan. 1.2 For the purposes of this plan, it is noted that “housing” refers to an integrated approach to development using the delivery of shelter as the primary focus. As indicated in Figure 1 below, housing includes, among others, the development of housing units, service delivery, the upgrading of land tenure rights, social and community development and planning policy issues. Future housing projects should facilitate the attainment of all of these development goals. Figure 1: Housing Concept SUSTAINABLE HUMAN SETTLEMENT Shelter Community Community Facilities Poverty Poverty Alleviation NATION BUILDING Service Delivery Service DEVELOPMENT INTEGRATED Land Tenure Land Job Creation Job SelfEsteem Policy Legislation Programmes Budget SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Housing delivery within the Dannhauser Municipal Area occurs mainly in the form of state funded, low cost housing in which the municipality serves as a developer. 1.3 The National Housing Code (March 2000: 29UF) identifies the primary role of the municipality as taking all reasonable and necessary steps, within the framework of national and provincial legislation and policy, to ensure that the inhabitants within its area of jurisdiction have access to adequate housing on a progressive basis. This entails the following: Initiating, planning, facilitating and co-ordinating appropriate housing development. Promoting private sector development and playing the role of developer. 1 ISIBUKO SE-AFRICA MAY 2007 FINAL DRAFT DANNHAUSER MUNICIPAL HOUSING PLAN Preparing a housing delivery strategy and setting up housing development goals. Set aside, plan and manage land for housing development. Creating a financially and socially viable environment for housing delivery. Facilitating the resolution of conflicts arising from housing delivery initiatives. Facilitating the provision of bulk services. Administering national housing programmes. Expropriating land for housing development. This plan aims to assist the municipality in fulfilling the abovementioned role assigned to it in terms of the National Housing Code. 1.5 Cognisance should also be taken of the Comprehensive Plan for the Development of Sustainable Human Settlements (August 2004) and the Guidelines for the Implementation of Labour-Intensive Infrastructure Projects under the Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP). The Comprehensive Plan provides detailed information on the programmes identified by the National Department. It provides clear indicators of deliverables, time frames and estimated resource requirements. The new human settlements plan promotes the achievement of a non- racial, integrated society through the development of sustainable human settlements and quality housing. Housing is to be utilized for the development of sustainable human settlements in support of spatial restructuring. The aim is to move beyond the provision of basic shelter towards achieving the broader vision of sustainable human settlements and more efficient towns, cities and regions. The following factors will be taken into consideration in order to achieve this vision: Progressive Informal Settlement Eradication: these settlements must be integrated into the broader urban fabric to overcome spatial, social and economic exclusion. The eradication of informal settlements through in-situ upgrading in desired locations coupled with the relocation of households where development is not possible or desirable is supported by the human settlement plan. Promoting Densification and Integration: the plan aims to integrate previously excluded groups into the city and the benefits it offers and to ensure the development of more integrated, functional and environmentally sustainable human settlements, towns and cities. Enhancing Spatial Planning: greater coordination and alignment of various planning instruments and economic policies lies at the heart of sustainable human settlements. This requires more than mere coordination between departments but there needs to be a single overarching planning authority and/or instrument 2 ISIBUKO SE-AFRICA MAY 2007 FINAL DRAFT DANNHAUSER MUNICIPAL HOUSING PLAN to provide macro-level guidance to support the development of sustainable human settlements. Enhancing the Location of New Housing Projects: the location of housing projects has been criticized as reinforcing apartheid spatial settlement patterns. Spatial restructuring aims to achieve a more decisive intervention in land markets. The following interventions are envisaged viz. accessing well located state- owned and parastatal land, acquisition of well-located private land for housing development, funding for land acquisition and fiscal incentives. Supporting Urban Renewal and Inner City Regeneration: urban renewal and inner city regeneration often result in the current inhabitants being excluded as a result of the construction of dwelling units they cannot afford. Some municipalities are trying to avoid this by promoting affordable inner city housing. The human settlement plan will support this by encouraging social housing. Developing Social and Economic Infrastructure: the need to move away from a housing–only approach towards a more holistic development of human settlements which includes the provision of social and economic infrastructure is emphasized. Enhancing the Housing Product: the aim is to develop more appropriate settlement designs and housing products and to ensure appropriate housing quality. The EPWP is aimed at alleviating and reducing unemployment by the provision of work opportunities. The principles/guidelines of the above plan/programme should be taken into account when housing projects are undertaken. 1.6 Given all of the above, the approach that has been adopted with respect to the formulation of this plan has been a strategic one, with its main components being as follows: Optimal Use of Existing Information: A substantial amount of work has already been undertaken with respect to housing in the municipal area. Optimal use was therefore made of the existing information. The Dannhauser Integrated Development Plan, and subsequent reviews thereof, were used as the base. Other key information sources included the municipal housing waiting list, the district municipality’s sector plans and provincial and national literature. Holistic Approach: Social, economic, physical and institutional factors were taken into account during the project, in order to ensure that housing occurs in an integrated and co-ordinated manner within the municipal area. Consultative Process: The project has involved consultation with a range of roleplayers. Consultation has taken the form of 3 ISIBUKO SE-AFRICA MAY 2007 FINAL DRAFT DANNHAUSER MUNICIPAL HOUSING PLAN presentations and discussions at the Dannhauser Housing Forum; and interviews with key interested and affected stakeholders (including Councillors and officials, government department and district municipality representatives). The final draft plan was advertised for public comment and no comments were received. The plan is to be presented to Council for consideration. GIS: This has entailed, inter alia, the mapping of all the existing and proposed housing projects. 1.7 Finally, it is noted that this plan has been prepared strictly in accordance with the two guideline documents issued by the provincial Department of Housing to municipalities, namely “Housing Planning Template 2003 - 2006” and “The Department of Housing: Strategic Housing Planning Guidelines for Municipalities 2002”. The plan accordingly provides the following: an overview of the local context (section 2); information regarding current housing demand (section 3); identification of land suitable for future housing development (section 4); an overview of the current housing situation (section 5); information regarding planned projects (section 6); information regarding integration of housing with other sectors (section 7); reference to the Dannhauser Integrated Development Plan’s Spatial Development Framework (section 8); a set of performance indicators (section 9); information regarding housing institutional arrangements (section 10); and a conclusion (section 11). 4 ISIBUKO SE-AFRICA MAY 2007 FINAL DRAFT DANNHAUSER MUNICIPAL HOUSING PLAN 2. LOCAL CONTEXT: 2.1. SPATIAL CONTEXT (SEE MAP 1): The Dannhauser Local Municipality is located in north-western KwaZulu–Natal, within the southern portion of the Amajuba District. The town of Dannhauser is located midway between Durban and Johannesburg on the main railway line and about 8km off the national road between the two cities. Dannhauser serves as an important administrative centre in the region, as well as a rural service centre. The main primary centre is Dannhauser (it includes Dannhauser, Emafusini and Durnacol areas) and there are five proposed service satellites (Hattingspruit, Flint, Thirst, Naasfarm and Kilkeel). Land use in the balance of the municipal area is predominantly commercial farming. There are a limited number of rural settlements, namely Rutland, Fairbreeze, Alcockspruit, Annieville and Annandale. In addition, there are also land reform projects which are in the process of being implemented. They are Alcockspruit, Kopje Alleen and Mossdale. Dannhauser is well served by road transportation routes – the N11