SOUTHBROOM NEWS - STOP PRESS - FEB 08

A SOUTHBROOM RATEPAYERS, CONSERVANCY & COMMUNITY POLICING INITIATIVE.

This newsletter is intended for ratepayers & residents of Southbroom, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.  Click Unsubscribe if you do not wish to receive it, or click Subscribe if you did not receive it direct.

>> UPHOLDING THE PROVISIONS OF THE TOWN PLANNING SCHEME - DR. JEFF McCARTHY'S FINAL DRAFT REPORT

In 1933, the Eyles brothers created the park-like residential township of Southbroom and aimed to preserve the natural beauty through sound town planning.

The scheme incorporated several green lungs including a golf course; low coverage to ensure the retention of indigenous foliage; and plot sizes capable of withstanding the lack of water borne sewerage.

In more recent years, the town plan has come under severe pressure by developers seeking increased density and super profits, despite the fact that the town relies on septic and conservancy tanks that ultimately seep into its three estuaries.

In line with the mandate received from ratepayers and residents that every effort be made to ensure that the provisions of the existing town planning scheme are upheld, Southbroom Ratepayers Association and Southbroom Conservancy jointly commissioned renowned environmental specialist, Dr. Jeff McCarthy, to submit a report on the town.

Jeff's report is available here and you are asked to submit your comments and ideas to profmac@mweb.co.za by 2 March 2008 for possible inclusion in the final report.

It is of utmost importance that the entire Southbroom community has input into the document. Using a bottom up approach, it is your wishes together with the views of local and provincial government that will shape the final report and determine the future of Southbroom.

The final report will be launched by Dr. Jeff McCarthy, with provincial and local government officials, at a public meeting at Southbroom Golf Club on Wednesday 26 March at 10h00.

So, if you love Southbroom, the aesthetic, the lifestyle, and the eco-tourism value that the town plan seeks to achieve, please participate in the "Report towards the implementation and enforcement of the Mpenjati/Southbroom town plan for ecologically sensitive and sustainable coastal development."

>> MUSIC IN EYLES PARK

If the weather plays up on Sunday 24 February, the guided walk of the Bushbuck Trail (16h00) and Classical Music Sundowner (17h00) will be held on Monday 25 February, 2008.

Bring your chair and sundowner basket and join Southbroom Conservancy at Eyles Park (behind the tennis club), Captain Smith's Road, Southbroom on Sunday 24 February 2008.

At 16h00, David Hallé will lead a guided walk through the Bushbuck Trail

At 17h00, Robin Ransome has assembled a group of musicians, wind and string, who will entertain as the sun goes down.

Those wishing to linger on and enjoy the moon rise will more than likely be treated to the antics of night jar and fire fly, as well as froggy operatics.

We look forward to seeing you and sharing what has become a most delightful public setting in Southbroom.

WHY THE REPORT?

Dr. Jeff McCarthy was commissioned to provide a 'greenprint' that could ensure that ecologically sensitive and sustainable coastal development remains key to the value of Southbroom.

HISTORY

In 1884 a young English missionary from Wick near Bath, Alfred Eyles, established a mission for the Society of Friends near the hill known as 'ntsaba' on the southern side of the Imbezane river.

In 1887 he married Catherine Jarvis of Pewsey in Wiltshire. They had four sons and two daughters.

Shortly before his marriage, he applied for a grant of land from the Natal Government to extend the size of his mission.

He first acquired 125 acres at 10 shillings an acre and then a further parcel of some 212 acres, to enable the mission to become self-supporting. A third purchase of 557 acres resulted in his holding extending from the Imbezane to the Umkobi River.

And so it began .......

While Alfred and Catherine (Kitty) Eyles will always be remembered as the town's first pioneers, their youngest sons, Gilbert and Frank, were its founders.