August 27, 2004

By Ndaba Dlamini

AFTER years of under-utilisation, Huddle Park Golf Course, east of Johannesburg, is to get a facelift and be developed into a mixed-use facility.

This follows a decision by the City of Johannesburg, which provided parameters in terms of the type of land use that will be considered to develop the site. The City's mayoral committee, a body made up of councillors responsible for the running of different departments within the municipality, has set up a steering committee headed by Amanda Nair, the City's development planning, transportation and environment department executive director, and Musa Jack, the director for strategic support. "The site is in a state of disrepair which makes it necessary for the City to intervene by injecting some investment that will improve the state of the property," said Jack.

The council-owned golf course is currently under a 15-year lease to the Linksfield Golf Development Company, which is responsible for maintenance.

Due to financial constraints, the company is limiting its attention to only one of three golf courses on the site.

Huddle Park is one of the largest remaining open spaces within Johannesburg and covers an area of 235 489 hectares. The golf course is surrounded by the suburbs of Bedford Park, Senderwood and Sandringham and consists of three 18-hole golf courses.

The Johannesburg Property Company submitted an Urban Design Framework for the Huddle Park development to the mayoral committee in January 2004, which proposed that part of the golf course be developed into an office, retail, residential and entertainment facility.

"The suggested land uses are not a prescription," said Jack, but two of the golf courses will be upgraded to provide "a special place for the citizens of Joburg". One of the upgraded golf courses will be operated "as a speciality course, a unique asset for the City and attraction for golf tourists " and the other will be operated as a public course "with the purpose of offering all of Joburg's residents the opportunity to participate, with a specific focus on activities for the development of golf among all of the city's residents."

According to Jack, the steering committee is in the process of finalising a proposal call document to be issued and published at a later date. "In the proposal call document, developers will be encouraged to be innovative. Any interested developer will be invited to submit a proposal and the current lease holders will be treated like any other potential developer," says Jack.

Under the current lease agreement with the Linksfield Golf Development Company, the City can terminate the agreement after confirmation that the rezoning application and proposed development of the golf course has been approved by the City. This information has to be given in writing to the Linksfield Golf Development Company.

During the development of the Urban Design Framework, two meetings were held with a group of "identified primary stakeholders". "While the group appreciated the developments of Huddle Park, they had very strong views which basically indicate that they will not support any development on site which is not compatible with Metropolitan Open Space System," Jack says.

In recognition of the rapid loss of open space resources and the need to respond appropriately to development pressures while adhering to the principles of sustainable environmental management, the environmental planning and management department has, with City Parks, developed a plan for the city.

Called the Metropolitan Open Space System, the plan ensures that the city's open spaces (green areas such as parks, squares, gardens, rivers and natural

reserves) are not only conserved and maintained but also used for recreational pursuits.

In order to ensure that the "broader community" is aware of the City's intentions with regard to Huddle Park, a public meeting was held at the Council Chambers in July where the public was given a chance to voice their concerns over the proposed developments.

"Some members of the public do not support the proposed developments. It is our view that the concerns raised can be addressed and that some are premature," Jack said.

Previous efforts had been made to redevelop Huddle Park golf course. In May 1997, the Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council entered into a lease agreement with the National Sports Council to establish a township in Huddle Park.

However, the sports council failed to establish the township within the stipulated lease agreement time of 30 months and the Johannesburg Property Company declared the agreement null and void in May 2002.