Yzer Mall

Yzerfontein Mall

The past few weeks have seen much debate regarding a proposed shopping mall on erven North of the R315 and opposite the fish market. Some members have urged our Association to raise objections against the construction of such a development.

On the website www.yzermall.co.za it is stated that Yzer Mall is owned by Jelani Investments, an entity for which we could not find any information. It is further stated that the developer is Group 3 Properties who also own copyright of the website. Mr Chris Tapsell, representing Group 3 Properties, has requested two meetings thus far with the chairman of the YRA and presented preliminary plans of the development. During the most recent meeting he stated that the development will take place in three phases and will consist primarily of shops and offices.

He also proposed changing name to Yzer Village, to which the chairman objected as it would adopt the name of our village. It was agreed to abandon that idea and stay with Yzer Mall. Since the word “Mall” is generic in describing centers of business, consisting primarily of shops and offices, no logical objection against the word is possible.

Neither Jelani Investments nor Group 3 Properties have submitted plans to Swartland Municipality (SM) as yet. Precisely what development is contemplated is therefore not known at this time. The YRA cannot conceive of any legal grounds as a basis for objecting to a legally approved construction on appropriately zoned property, provided the developer stays within the limits of the conditions, subject to which SM has granted approval. Any other type of objection would be meaningless and the the authority of SM control over building activity is a matter of law.

There are already several shopping centers or “malls” in the village. The building plans for a new Spar building, which includes five additional shops, is in an advanced stage of approval by SM. These were obtained by the YRA from SM during the past two weeks in an effort to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of proposed commercial developments. However much one may oppose further commercial development in Yzerfontein, it is doubtful that it will be stopped, based on legal grounds which is after all the only effective basis for objection.

Any substantial residential development in the foreseeable future is not a realistic expectation, given the extremely large amounts of capital required for additional infrastructure services, such as electricity, water, sewerage and refuse, to support such development.