Case Decision - 198166

The South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) would like to thank you for submitting the Draft Basic Assessment Report (DBAR) and the accompanying Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) as part of Section 38(8) of the National Heritage Resources Act (no. 25 of 1999) (NHRA) for the Richards Bay Waterfront Rezoning and Redevelopment project in the City of uMhlathuze and King Cetshwayo District Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
SAHRA notes the comment on the DBAR made by Amafa that advised the applicant to obtain comment from the Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage (MUCH) unit at SAHRA as the project area includes high-water mark areas. SAHRA is the heritage authority responsible for the identification, protection, and promotion of all heritage resources located below the high-water mark and within the maritime cultural zone of the Republic, as well as those situated in, or associated with, inland lakes, rivers, or other bodies of water. This includes, inter alia, shipwrecks older than 60 years and their associated cargo and debris, heritage resources in the intertidal zone, and intangible heritage associated with water.
The aforementioned project entails the rezoning and refurbishment of the Richards Bay Waterfront with no activities planned below the high-water mark, but some listed activities within 100m of the high-water mark, such as the construction of a hotel that will sleep more than 15 people (Listing Notice 3; 4th December 2017 as amended as part of the National Environmental Management Act (no. 107 of 1998).
SAHRA notes that, as mentioned in the DBAR, the project area is highly disturbed and that there is no known maritime related intangible heritage associated with the area. Moreover, the only known wreck that lies within the Richards Bay Waterfront is the Newark Castle (1902). This wreck was however disturbed during development activities in the 1970s and was supposedly dredged and reburied, meaning that its remains lie well below the high-water mark, presumably buried underneath sand and it would not be impacted by the proposed rezoning and refurbishment activities that would be occurring above the high-water mark.
Therefore, SAHRA supports the comment already made by Amafa, but it must be noted that maritime related heritage, such as objects associated with shipwrecks older than 60 years are also considered to be heritage material. According to section 35(3) of the NHRA, if any maritime or underwater heritage resource is discovered, this must be reported to SAHRA immediately. Heritage resources that might be applicable in this case, include, but are not limited to; submerged archaeological artefacts and/or fossils, submerged palaeontological fossils, and pieces of shipwreck material and related artefacts older than 60 years.
As such, an addition must be made to the Environmental Management Programme (EMPr) in Table 3.4 under ‘heritage’ (page 37), that speaks to this. This could be achieved is by adding this information to the first and third bullet points respectively. The first bullet point must be altered to read,
“The KwaZulu Natal Amafa and Research Institute should be contacted if any heritage objects are identified during earth-moving activities[, and in the case of maritime-related heritage objects the MUCH unit at SAHRA,] and all development should cease until further notice.”
Whereas the third bullet point must be altered to read,
“Under no circumstances may any heritage material be destroyed or removed from the site unless under direction of the KwaZulu Natal and Amafa Research Institute and a heritage specialist [and in the case of maritime-related heritage material the MUCH unit at SAHRA].”
Please note that all updates and/or changes to the project, supporting documentation, correspondence, reports, or any other work relating to the project must be uploaded to the case on SAHRIS to provide SAHRA with the opportunity to comment. SAHRA does not accept emailed documents or hard-copy documents received via post.