A pledge that up to 1 000 permanent jobs would be created in the next three years was given to impoverished communities on the western outskirts of Port Elizabeth on Monday by the developers of a R1,2-million golf estate.

Pinnacle Point Holdings (PPH) chairman Ivor Stratford was talking at the ceremonial turning of the first sod at the Wedgewood Village and Country Estate.

"The Wedgewood investment will breathe new life into the 62-year-old Port Elizabeth golf course. It will bring the golfing estate lifestyle and retirement village concept to the Eastern Cape, and create an opportunity for three generations - grandparents, their children, and their families - to live within the same community," he said.

Quipping that he was born in the same year the course was established - 1945, Stratford said the Mandela Bay development formed part of a R22-million investment portfolio the PPH group planned to establish in the next five years.

It had already established the international award Pinnacle Point development at Mossel Bay and a major project at Clarens in the Free State.

The aim of Wedgewood - described as "the second-biggest single development in the region next to Coega" - was to make it one of the finest in the country.

Stratford said investors who had recognised the potential of the development when it was first announced two years ago had already made up to 50% profit on their initial outlay, in line with the country's buoyant property market.

"Effectively, sites are being sold for a 30% to 50% profit without a single brick having been laid on the property."

He said the 486 plots along the golf course cost between R395 000 and R1,2-million and 70% of these had already been sold.

Now, a residential village with 307 units was about to be marketed, all supplemented by shops, gardens, a medical centre and other facilities.

Stratford said up to 1 000 jobs should be created during the construction stages of Wedgewood, while 1 000 permanent jobs would eventually be created on the estate itself. These would go mainly to members of the community around the development, which was in dire need of employment opportunities.

All development would also be undertaken with full environmental consideration and consultation.

He said many of the sales made so far were from outside Mandela Bay, showing increased confidence in the future of Port Elizabeth being a major growth point on the coast.

Port Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Dave Coffey said at the ceremony it was great news to hear that money was coming in from outside the city, and he hoped that Wedgewood would be a nucleus and the catalyst of future development in its immediate area.

Bay councillor Melvin Manentsa welcomed the development in general and particularly the news of the planned employment of the local community.

Eastern Province Herald