Plett residents race to save Robberg’s last lung

The Robberg Peninsula in Plettenberg Bay has long been celebrated as one of the Cape’s most precious coastal ecosystems, and it survives ecologically because of a single vital stretch of coastline that connects it directly to the Garden Route National Park. That narrow corridor is now under serious threat from a property development that could eventually transform the entire peninsula into a barren desert.

The developer behind this is Ballywood Properties, a consortium backed by prominent shareholders including Schalk Burger. Ballywood Properties are pushing ahead with plans to expand an existing clifftop guest house while simultaneously building a massive new housing complex on a piece of land known as Erf 8010. Their proposed development would see 166 erven spread across 31.4 hectares, including 120 group housing units, apartment blocks, and business premises, all constructed on top of this irreplaceable ecological corridor.

What makes this development particularly concerning is that “the coastal stretch on the other side of the peninsula, around the Whale Rock development, has already been built over and stripped of biodiversity.” What this essentially means is that if this development goes ahead, the Robberg Peninsula will lose its last remaining ecological lifeline, permanently cutting off the natural movement of plants and animal species.

The Plettenberg Bay Ratepayers and Residents Association has formally requested a moratorium on all new development in the area “until Bitou can provide adequate water and sewerage capacity.” Attorneys acting on behalf of concerned residents have sent a formal legal notice to the Provincial Minister warning that approving this development would directly violate national water and sanitation standards.