Draft Basic Assessment Report for the Proposed Westville Triangle Housing Development, eThekwini Municipality Report Prepared for Woodglaze Trading (Pty) Ltd. Report Number 496762/DBAR-01 Report Prepared by November 2020 SRK Consulting: 496762: Proposed Westville Triangle Draft BAR Page i Draft Basic Assessment Report for the Proposed Westville Triangle Housing Development, eThekwini Municipality Woodglaze Trading (Pty) Ltd. SRK Consulting (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd. Section A Second Floor, Suite 02/B1 Norfolk House 54 Norfolk Terrace, off Blair Atholl Drive Westville 3630 South Africa e-mail: [email protected] website: www.srk.co.za Tel: +27 (0) 31 279 1200 Fax:+27 (0) 31 279 1204 SRK Project Number 496762 November 2020 Compiled by: Reviewed by: Mrs T. Hale Cert. EAP Pr. Sci. Nat. Mr. M. van Huyssteen Senior Environmental Scientist Partner Email: [email protected] Authors: T. Hale HALT//VHUY 496762_WestTriBA_Draft BAR_Final_20201113_Comp November 2020 SRK Consulting: 496762: Proposed Westville Triangle Draft BAR Page ii INTERESTED AND AFFECTED PARTIES (I&AP) ARE INVITED TO REVIEW THIS REPORT AND SUBMIT COMMENTS TO TAMARYN HALE OF SRK CONSULTING (TEL: 031 279 1200; EMAIL: [email protected]; FAX: 031 279 1204) Executive Summary a) Introduction Woodglaze Trading (Pty) Ltd. (Woodglaze Trading) are proposing the construction of the Westville Triangle Housing Development in Ward 30 of the eThekwini Municipality (Error! Reference source not found. in Section 3 provides a locality map of the proposed project). b) Listed Activities In terms of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations, 2014 (as amended in Government Notice (GN) 326 of 07 April 2017), the following trigger activities are applicable: • NEMA EIA Listing Notice 1 (GN 327) – listed activity No. 27. • NEMA EIA Listing Notice 3 (GN 324) – listed activity No. 4d.viii, 12d.v and 14(ii)(a)d.vii. An application for Environmental Authorisation via a Basic Assessment (BA) process is required. c) Project Description Woodglaze Trading proposes to develop approximately 300 residential housing units at Westville Triangle, KwaZulu-Natal. The proposed development includes apartments that consist of two- and three-storey walk-up blocks accommodating 2-bedroom apartments on each floor (92 units in total) and 208 semi-detached, double-storey units. The following infrastructure and services will form part of the development: • Two (2) tarred access roads with internal roads 8 m, 12 m and 16 m wide. • Two (2) community facilities. • Recreation facilities including: a sports field; a basketball court, a tennis court; fifteen (15) play areas and three (3) water features. • Parking areas (1.5 per unit). • Open space areas. • Services to include: electricity, water and sewer connections, and stormwater infrastructure. The project site is located within Ward 30 of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, within the Inner West Region of the Municipality, in the suburb of Berea-West in Westville. The project site is bordered by the M13 King Cetswayo Highway to the north, the National Road N2 to the east and the N3 to the south. The site is approximately 20.9 hectares in extent with the area to be developed approximately 17.5ha. The Applicant, Woodglaze Trading, is the owner of the properties. The centre coordinate of the site is: 29°36'46.05"S; 31°03'18.77"E. HALT//VHUY 496762_WestTriBA_Draft BAR_Final_20201113_Comp November 2020 SRK Consulting: 496762: Proposed Westville Triangle Draft BAR Page iii d) Impact Identification An impact assessment process was undertaken to identify the aspects and potential impacts. The potential significant impacts identified for the proposed Westville Triangle Housing Project include: • Construction Phase: - Traffic. - Loss of biodiversity. - Aquatic and wetland impacts. - Employment (opportunities). - Construction nuisance impacts. • Operational Phase: - Traffic. - Alien plant invasion. - Increased run-off. - Aquatic and wetland impacts. - Pollution of water resources. - Employment (opportunities). e) Specialist studies The following specialist studies were undertaken: 1) Traffic Impact Assessment The Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) notes that traffic impacts of new developments are concentrated on the immediate transportation network with these impacts dissipating rapidly further away from the development as more access opportunities become available and traffic disperses onto the broader road network. As such the assessment focused on the following roads and intersections that will be used to access the site: • Konigkramer Avenue and Essex Terrace. • Coventry Road and Essex Terrace. • Warspite Road and Essex Terrace. Traffic counts where undertaken on 13 November 2019. The morning peak period (07:00 – 08:00) and afternoon peak period (16:00 – 17:00) was assessed and it was assumed that most of the commuters will be utilizing private vehicles. The assessment extended for a 5-year period until 2024. 2) Vegetation and Wetland Assessment 2.1 Vegetation The main vegetative habitat units across the site include: • Dense woody vegetation. • Open scrublands. • Secondary grasslands. • Wetland habitat. A summary of the Ecological Importance and Sensitivity (EIS) of the vegetation habitats assessed in the project area is presented in Table ES-1. HALT//VHUY 496762_WestTriBA_Draft BAR_Final_20201113_Comp November 2020 SRK Consulting: 496762: Proposed Westville Triangle Draft BAR Page iv Table ES-1: Summary of the Ecological Importance and Sensitivity of vegetation Vegetation habitat Condition Threat Status Sensitivity Dense woody vegetation Very Poor Low Concern Low Open scrublands Poor Low Concern Low Secondary grassland Poor Critically Endangered Moderate Wetland habitat Good Critically Endangered High When the physical site findings, in relation to vegetation, are considered against relevant legislation and the EKZNW CPLAN, the vegetation within the property is transformed and does not support key biodiversity features that would qualify it as a Critical Biodiversity Area. No plant species of conservation concern were encountered within the property during the site assessment by the vegetation specialist. The only vegetation habitat occurring within the property that is of conservation concern is the wetland habitats. 2.2 Wetlands The wetlands on site were delineated based on three indicators, namely terrain, wetland vegetation and soil. The Terrain Indicator (TI) Areas identified are as follows: • TI Area A – Hydro-geomorphic (HGM): Hillslope seepage (seep) (HGM A). • TI Area B – HGM: Channelled valley bottom (HGM B). • TI Area C: Since wetland vegetation and wetland soil indicators are not representative of wetland habitat, TI Area C (this is referred to as the Recommended Limited Development Zone in this report) did not qualify as a wetland and therefore no HGM unit has been assigned to it1. In line with the SANBI national classifications system, water inputs for both HGM Units are primarily due to flows emanating from up-slope discharge. Water movement through the seep is mainly in the form of diffuse sub-surface flow, often during the rainy season whereas the channelled valley bottom primarily receives inflows from a channel near the site and gentle slopes. A Level 1 Wetland Health Assessment was conducted on the wetlands identified (i.e. HGM A and HGM B) and both HGM units were categorised as PES Category D, which is associated with a largely modified wetland system. Changes to the functionality (hydrology, geomorphology and vegetation) and integrity of the wetlands include: • Obstruction of the flow by the existing road (M13). • Pollution (plastic, cardboard, tins) within the permanent zone of saturation of the wetland. • Infestation of alien invasive vegetation. A Level 2 WET-EcoServices assessment was undertaken for the HGM A and B wetlands, the results are detailed in Table ES-2. Table ES-2: Results of the Level 2 WET-EcoServices assessment on HGM A and B HGM Main eco-services provided HGM A (seep wetland) • Sediment trapping. • Streamflow regulation. • Erosion control. • Phosphate, nitrate and toxicant trapping. • Carbon storage. 1 Although TI Area C is not characterised as a wetland or a watercourse, it is identified as an area where stormwater management and control interventions could potentially be incorporated into the design layout of the proposed development. HALT//VHUY 496762_WestTriBA_Draft BAR_Final_20201113_Comp November 2020 SRK Consulting: 496762: Proposed Westville Triangle Draft BAR Page v HGM Main eco-services provided HGM B (channelled valley bottom wetland) • Flood attenuation. • Streamflow regulation. • Phosphate, nitrate and toxicant trapping. • Erosion control (to a larger extent). • Carbon sequestration. • Maintenance of biodiversity. • Water supply for humans. The Ecological Importance and Sensitivity (EIS) of both the wetland units were recorded as being Low. This is due to the largely degraded nature of the wetland systems sedimentation, presence of alien invasive species, and pollution. Despite this, some natural vegetation was observed in clumps around the wetland and this provides natural habitat for varying faunal species (reptiles, amphibians and birds). Surface water was also observed in the permanent zones of saturation of both wetlands increasing the likelihood of these wetlands being used by faunal species for breeding, feeding and protection. The Preliminary Guideline for the Determination of Buffer Zones for Rivers, Wetlands and Estuaries (WRC, 2015) was used for the determination of buffer zones associated with