BALLITO &beyond

THE SPOTLIGHT’S ON THE GREATER BALLITO REGION, AND QUITE RIGHTLY SO. AS ONE OF THE COUNTRY’S FASTEST GROWTH NODES IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE, THEY’RE CLEARLY GETTING A GREAT DEAL RIGHT. THE RIDGE CHATS TO KEY PERSONALITIES ABOUT YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

Everyone’s upbeat and positive, but equally, they’re realistic. The property market along the North Coast – Ballito and beyond – is one of the top growth nodes in the country, but no one’s pretending it isn’t impacted by the local and international macro events – from waning municipal service delivery, civil unrest, floods, and socio-economic disparities to globally rising interest rates and warring countries. Yet, still, amongst it all, a number of committed doers have stood up, rolled up their sleeves, and focused on creating and sustaining this “pocket of excellence” today and into the future.

“Sixty-five families move each month to the North Coast,” says Stefan Botha, CEO of Rainmaker Marketing. They aren’t all semigraters, but the figures are interesting: “The Western Cape makes up 35 percent of people semigrating (that is, people moving from one city to another within SA). They’ve seen quite a big rise over the past few years, whereas KZN’s challenges have seen us remain pretty static at about 13 percent of that market share. But despite that, I believe that pockets of excellence in KZN way exceed other areas of the country because there is this legacy of managed, secure precincts which was created historically.” Stef’s referring largely to the quality of town planning around areas like Gateway, uMhlanga Town

Centre, Sibaya Coastal Precinct and Izinga.

“KZN was way ahead of its time when it came to public and private sector collaboration. That’s why such value was created between uMhlanga and the North Coast.” Stef believes a significant percentage of that 13 percent of KZN semigraters are choosing the North Coast, but add to that, of course, those within the province who’re moving north.

This is gated-estate country benefitting from easily accessed and well managed retail, commercial and tourism precincts, where you really can choose your lifestyle and price point, while being guaranteed security and – particularly with the newer estates – a host of sustainability features.

Stef had some interesting stats regarding the difference in value of properties inside estates versus outside: “Ballito largely comprises ‘older’ estates – currently the average value of property within estates is 40 percent higher than out. If you look at Salt Rock – all new estates like Zululami, Elaleni, Dunkirk –that figure rockets to 219 percent. It’s not saying property outside of estates is not good, it’s just that there’s a substantial premium being placed by those preferring to be inside them.”

And who’s moving there? “There’s been a massive shift in the LSM in the recent three years. Across Salt Rock and Ballito, 43 percent of buyers are between

36 and 49 years old,” he says. “An influx of younger families with children, driven hugely by quality schools like Umhlali Primary School – government school, huge waiting list – complemented by great private schools like Curro and Ashton.” He adds, “And developers are being a lot more creative to create different price points.”»

So, what’s happening in Ballito that’s making the difference? A few things. The North Coast has property developers of substance, experience and expertise who are – as Stef says – bullish about the province. “Visionaries if you like, such as Murray Collins of the Collins Group, who has a plan mapped out for the North Coast. Then a number of out-of-town developers like the Balwins of Ballito Hills. They’re doing things at scale, and that makes a significant difference.” Ballito may be the land of high-profile residential property, but it’s the focus on infrastructure, cleanliness, maintenance and more which is increasingly giving Ballito a reputation as that bubble of excellence.

The Collins Group talked about the extension of their role into infrastructure: “With the development of Seaton, our development obligation is to tar the P228 commonly known as the Flag Farm Animal Farm Road – everyone with young children knows that old gravel road. In addition, we’re constructing a whole new interchange off the N2, so after the turnoffs to Ballito, Shaka’s Rock and Salt Rock, will come the new Seaton interchange,” says Collins’ Geoff Perkins.

“What development brings is not only new places for families to live, but upgrades in infrastructure, including new pumphouses and sanitation. This year we’ve made a massive investment in terms of phase one of the interchange and the tarring of the P228. These are public spaces, areas which unlock an entire new suburb – it’s not just for Collins developments. It unlocks all of the area around it too. We are essentially futureproofing the area – planning and putting in infrastructure for what we believe the future is going to look like here.”

A significant factor in driving investment in Ballito’s commercial and tourism precincts is the work done by the Ballito UIP (Urban Improvement Precinct Non Profit Company) which is a formal collaboration with KwaDukuza Municipality. The purpose of the UIP is to consistently deliver highly sought-after precincts by ensuring the experience of Ballito’s public areas are of a very high standard which includes safety, landscaping and general aesthetics.

Brian Wright, who leads the UIP management team rightly says, »

“Historically, the notion of property value has been dictated by location, but increasingly it is about how these locations are managed today and into the future, that instils investor confidence.” The UIP deploys a 24/7 security team, together with landscaping, cleaning and general maintenance teams seven days a week who start at 6am with road sweeping, litter picking and spotless beaches –accredited professional water quality testing is conducted on behalf of the UIP on a bi-weekly basis with the results communicated by the UIP to property owners, businesses and stakeholders –available for free by subscribing to the service on www.ballitouip.co.za. Ballito is determined to retain their Blue Flag status. Landscaping and pothole repairs are constants, but for those who live, work and play in Ballito, the UIP’s piloting of the North Coast’s first back-up power solution for traffic signals on March 23 was a game changer for commuters, pedestrians, businesses and visitors. Since then, an additional three traffic signals have been fitted with back-up power at key intersections – the restored sense of calm is palpable: “The success and learnings of this pilot project will be shared with neighbouring precincts,” says Ballito UIP precinct manager Thierry Leclezio. “As part of our commitment to position Ballito as a sought-after precinct and enhance investment attractiveness of the North Coast, collaboration with municipalities is key in establishing the North Coast growth trajectory, building investor confidence, while maintaining and improving the quality of life for all.”

Sustainability, independence, being partially or fully off the grid – these are integral to the ethos of many developers – long before Eskom imploded, but now, more important than ever. New developments integrate them – not only high-end estates – and older ones are working on retrofits. It’s not simply about mitigating the effects of dwindling service delivery, but about a lifestyle which celebrates and preserves the environment.

Take Fairview Estates, 65 percent sold out of this secure, smallholding estate of 97 two- up to 20-hectare sites, 10 minutes inland of Ballito – so, country living, but nearly in town. They’ve also installed the best-in-class electric fence powered by solar. Sales manager and Fairview Estates’ resident, Justine Langford says, “We premise on encouraging a self-sustainable lifestyle, where you have space and a very relaxed pet policy – for everything from chickens and horses to dairy cows. Some grow vegetables, others have installed beehives, some grow macadamia nuts (we have a co-op, so aside from assisting new farmers with skills etc, they benefit from economies of scale). A core value is artisanal living – organic veggies, harvesting local honey, having a workshop, getting back to nature.”

Sustainability is a certain goal, so Fairview has a borehole which supplies all water, independent septic tanks instead of a central sewer, ability to sell solar back into the grid, and plans for a central solar park to supply the estate. Their architectural guidelines, too, are based around incorporating the best use of natural elements to reduce energy consumption in the homes. »

Mike Graham is developer of Springvale Country Estate on the P228: “This is a family estate, developed by our family, with your family in mind. At the end of the day, we are developing an estate we would want to live in.” Covering a total of 58 hectares, Springvale Country Estate is made up of Springvale Farm and Springvale Village. Inspired by modern farm-style living, Springvale Farm offers homeowners larger plots averaging 2 600m² from R1,7-million; a spacious area to grow a veggie garden, a farm-style lifestyle with lay chickens, ducks and up to four dogs and two cats. A limited number of Acre Stands have just been launched from R3,5-million.

Springvale Village offers community inspired living with smaller plots averaging between 550m² and 650m² from R800 000 offering homeowners an affordable entry into secure, estate, country living. There will be 93 large farm plots and another 83 homes in Springvale Village. With less than 200 homes in total, homeowners can expect to be part of a close-knit community. Currently three homeowners have moved in, eight homes are under construction with 15 plans under review. Residential naturally goes hand in hand with commercial. Cobus Oelofse heads up the Ilembe Chamber of Commerce, and he’s considered a game changer in the landscape. He, too, is straightforward and realistic about the challenges, stressing that “it’s key to have a positive approach in terms of how we respond to those challenges.” He points to the 2022 Ilembe Business Confidence Index, which showed that public sector indicators remain collectively the biggest constraint to business: “Service delivery and infrastructure provision (41%), Regulations and compliance (31%), and Property rates and taxes (28%), were selected by all the business respondents as primary business constraints.”

But, he balances that with this: “The Chamber, and its private sector partners, remain passionately committed to unlocking the growth of our premier lifestyle destination. There have been huge successes worth celebrating, that is private/public sector collaborations, some driven by the private sector or individual businesses, some by local government, and others by the community. Ensuring economic growth that can be shared by all is however not a battle to be won – it is a battle to be fought. It is a long-term effort, with all the partners approaching it as such. *

Auria

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Iapproached the counter, chocolate in hand. My mom had given me 20c to buy a treat. To a nine-year-old in 1981, this was a huge treat. An old man was carefully counting out his coins to pay for his half loaf of bread, the lines on his dark face and hands etched by the harshness of his life. The shopkeeper looked up, saw me approaching, and ignoring this umkulu, beckoned me forward. I was shocked and stood resolutely behind the man. The shopkeeper – giving me undeserved and unwarranted power – planted in me a deep passion to fight for all to be treated with equal honour. A few days’ later I wrote a poem about Top Deck – and questioned why the white should always be above the brown?

At school I took every opportunity to connect with youth from disadvantaged communities, and in Grades 9 and 10 I would meet up with some guys from KwaNdengezi at the Pinetown Library (one of the only places we could meet then due to apartheid) to discuss the future of our country. Hearing their struggle continued to water that seed inside me.

I held various leadership positions over the years at school, and always enjoyed academics, especially maths. After school I went to Australia on Rotary Exchange for a year, then did a BComm at Maritzburg University where I served on the first nonracial res committee.

A last-minute change from doing Business Finance Honours to heading up a small business development programme for IPT once again brought me in line with my life’s passion. I have many stories to tell as a young white woman travelling by myself into various townships during the unsettling time leading up to the first democratic elections, but this was not about courage. My wiring has always tuned in to what I believe is right – not to that which is safe.

In 1995 I was given a scholarship to study a Masters (MPhil) in Economics of Developing Countries at Cambridge in the UK. After my studies I joined an international management consulting firm and worked around Europe for two years before returning to South Africa with my