Basic Assessment Report - SRK

Basic Assessment ReportDiscussion of rankings and findings:DMOSS/ Natural VegetationProximity to DMOSS/ natural vegetation was ranked, with sites in close proximity being given a score of 0 and sites further away being given 10. Sites A1 andA2 are located entirely within the DMOSS corridor, which runs parallel to the N2. Development within this corridor also has limitations in terms of visualsensitivity. With the South Africa National Road Agency (SANRAL) preferring to keep land directly adjacent to the N2 free from development and signage, soas to maintain the visual amenity of the National Road (N2). From discussions undertaken by Aurecon with SANRAL, they have indicated that they will notsupport development of a site in this area (Appendix D and E). Sites B1 and B2 are located partially within DMOSS, whilst the remaining sites are situatedoutside of DMOSS. Site E1 (ACSA’s preferred site) is the most disturbed of all the sites with an asphalt surface. Site C1 is also highly disturbed in its centralarea, with a limited undisturbed area on its periphery. Site E2 (ACSA’s alternative site) contains exotic grass and is landscaped, whilst the remaining sitescontain sugarcane/ abandoned sugarcane/ disturbed vegetation.HydrologyProximity to drainage lines/ streams was ranked, with sites in close proximity being given a score of 0 and sites further away being given 10. Sites E1(ACSA’s preferred site) and E2 (ACSA’s alternative site) are located on the levelled airport platform, on the outer edge of the Mdloti Catchment and furtherestfrom drainage lines/ streams that drain into the Mdloti River. The remaining sites are located further within the Mdloti Catchment and in close proximity todrainage lines/ streams. The Mdloti Catchment is considered highly sensitive as the catchment is small and the sensitive Mount Moreland Wetland is locatedwithin the catchment to the south. Sites further away from the drainage lines/ streams and on the edges of the catchment are thus considered more desirable.TopographyTopography was ranked with sites with steep topography being given a score of 0 and sites with gentle topography being given a score of 10; use was madeof a GIS database and Aurecon (2011b) rankings for site topography. ACSA’s preferred site, E1 and sites C1 and C2 were found to be the best suited as theywere found to be the most level.Zoning StatusZoning status was ranked, with sites having a suitable zoning status already in place and the site not requiring any rezoning work being ranked as 10, whilstsites that require rezoning being given a score of 0. Sites E1, E2, C1 and C2 are zoned, ‘Special Zone 10 (Airport)’, and the construction of a Petrol FillingStation (PFS) within this zoning is permissible. The remaining sites are zoned, ‘Undertermined’, therefore a zoning process would be required, which couldresult in lengthy delays for development of a PFS in the airport precinct.Department of Agriculture,Environmental Affairs & RuralDevelopment, KwaZulu-NatalBasic Assessment Report 2010Version 2: August 2010Page 16 of 46