Council approved De Mond long-term lease agreement
The Overstrand Municipality is pleased to announce that on 25 September 2024, Council approved the lease agreement for the development of the former De Mond Caravan Park and surrounding land in Voëlklip, Hermanus.
The signed lease agreement is still subject to conditions, contrary to some inaccurate claims on social media that these have been waived.
The site development plan submitted with the tender will go through a public participation process as required by planning legislation before final approval. This clarifies any misunderstandings about public involvement and confirms that public participation will take place.
BACKGROUND:
What processes have been undertaken to lease the De Mond Resort property?
In 1999, the then Council of Greater Hermanus Municipality commissioned Advocate Werner Zybrands to investigate a ‘Possible Municipal Partnership for De Mond, Onrusrivier and Hawston Caravan Parks”.
A public meeting for De Mond was held in December 1999 in the De Mond hall to discuss the future of the Caravan Park and the way forward. During this meeting, a committee was formed, consisting of interested parties, to provide further input to the consultant. The report was completed in March 2000 and submitted to Council, who adopted it. The report recommended that the long-term solution for the Council would be to call for proposal to lease De Mond as a concession.
At that stage, the caravan park was still occupied by approximately 200 structures.
De Mond status in terms of Overstrand Spatial Development Frameworks
As outlined in the following Overstrand Spatial Development Frameworks:
- 2006 Spatial Development Framework
- 2010 Growth Management Strategy
- 2014 Integrated Development Framework
- 2020 Spatial Development Framework
De Mond was earmarked for redevelopment into tourism facilities. Each of the above frameworks included extensive public participation processes.
Proposal Call – 2007
In March 2007, Council called for proposals and received four tenders. The tender was awarded to Atterbury Western Cape. However, because the suspensive conditions were not met, along with other factors, the agreement with Atterbury Western Cape was cancelled in 2010.
Public/Private Partnership Feasibility study 2010
At its meeting on 24 November 2010, the Council made the following resolution:
The Municipal Manager of Overstrand Municipality is authorised to conduct the Feasibility Study required by Section 120(4) of the Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003, No. 56 of 2003. This includes adhering to all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, including the Public Private Partnership (PPP) Regulations. The findings will be reported to the Council to enable an informed decision on whether to proceed with a proposed Public Private Partnership Agreement.
Mr J du Plessis, Attorney, and Ms A Botha of PAMS, as specialist consultants on PPP’s, were appointed to conduct the study.
The draft study and its findings were advertised for public comment on 1 December 2011, with the closing date for comments set for 27 December 2011. The following parties submitted comments:
- De Mond Caravan Park Association
- Hermanus Lagoon Property Owners Association
- Kleinrivier Park Owners Association
- Vogelgat Private Nature Reserve
At its meeting on 27 February 2013, the Council resolved to:
- Note the comments received on the feasibility study and inform the authors of the Council’s decision
- Accept the findings of the feasibility study
- Make the municipal properties available on a long-term lease to develop a public resort, ensuring ecologically sustainable development, equitable access for the public to municipal resources, socio-economic development, and optimal use of municipal land for the benefit of the local community.
Steps taken after feasibility study adoption
- Lyners Consulting Engineers was appointed to assist in compiling the proposal call documentation.
- Ms A Botha of PAMS, with assistance from Adv W Zybrands, served as sub-consultants for this task
Additionally, the following technical reports were also compiled to support the tender document:
- Bulk services report – GLS Consulting
- Standard for Civil Engineering Services – Overstrand Municipality
- Planning Reports – Urban Dynamics
- Environmental Report – Withers Environmental Consultants
Proposal Call – 28 March 2014
- No tenders received
Proposal Call – 2 October 2014
- One tender received
- Tender not compliant
Request for registration – 31 July 2015
- 11 parties registered
- Of those, nine remained after compulsory site visit and briefing session
Proposal Call – 12 February 2016
Three companies submitted proposals:
- Greystone Trading 945 (Pty) Ltd
- Hermanus ECO Village (Pty) Ltd
- The Crown Grant JV (Pohl Group)
Two tenderers qualified and the tender was awarded to Crown Grant JV (Pohl Group). A lease agreement was signed on 3 March 2018. However, Crown Grant JV failed to comply with the suspensive conditions. After an arbitration process, it was confirmed that these conditions were not met and the lease agreement has lapsed due to non-fulfilment.
Council decision – 26 January 2022
Councill resolved that proposals for the development of De Mond Property be requested and the public participation process commence after the proposals have been received.
Proposal Call – 29 July 2022
During the Overstrand Investment Conference held on 23 and 24 June 2022, De Mond Resort was one of the properties listed. The proposal call was advertised on 29 July 2022 and four tenders were received. The tender was awarded on 4 March 2024 to Point Caravan Park (Pty)Ltd. A lease agreement has been entered into that includes various conditions.
Before construction and further operations can take place, a site development plan must be approved. This plan will be subject to a public participation process, allowing the public to comment on the proposal before it is considered by the decision-maker.
