Dear Welgevonden Estate Homeowners and Residents
The month of February, this year, certainly lives up to its track record of traditionally being the Boland’s sweltering month! Do take the necessary precautions against sunburn when you or members of your family are outside. Be especially aware of the high temperatures that street surfaces reach this time of year. Rather walk the dogs during hours when the streets are not so hot to avoid their paws getting burnt or blistered.
Building plans
An important aspect that homeowners and some estate agents often overlook, is the requirement by the Stellenbosch Municipality and the Welgevonden Home Owners’ Association (WHOA) to have approved building plans available when Welgevonden Estate properties are sold and before transfer of ownership can take place.
The WHOA cannot issue a clearance certificate for a property that has been sold if the Stellenbosch Municipality-approved building plans are not available. Furthermore the actual structure of the house must conform with the approved building plans and the Welgevonden Architectural Directives and Design Guidelines.
Sellers are often disillusioned – and transfers delayed – when they become aware of this requirement at a very late stage of a property transaction. Therefore, obtain your approved building plans and provide a copy to the estate office to be filed on your property’s file. Do so even though you’re not even planning to sell your house. It might just save you a lot of trouble later, should you sell your house in the future.
Dogs not allowed to swim in the Welgevonden dam
Dog owners sometimes ask why dogs are not allowed to swim in the Welgevonden dam. One of the reasons is that animal excretions could cause pollution, with the result that pathogens could be transmitted to humans and other dogs in the water.
Furthermore, the estate rules require that dogs must always be under the control of their owners. Dogs swimming in water cannot be under the same control as on land, with the risk that such dogs may cause injury to people or other dogs nearby.
We are in the process of having the water tested. One of the indicators used to assess the hygienic conditions of recreational water is to test the water for, amongst others, the presence of E. coli. This is a highly specific indicator of faecal pollution which originates from humans and warm-blooded animals.
European Paper Wasps
European paper wasps are highly active in the Western Cape, especially during the height of summer. These insects are an invasive, predatory and parasitic species which cause an imbalance in our eco-system as they feed on other insects such as grasshoppers, butterflies and especially bees. In this regard they have become a threat to the local honey bee population and to crops in general.
These wasps are also active on Welgevonden Estate, especially as the estate is surrounded by a rural and agricultural environment. Estate management has measures in place to root out their nests where they appear on WHOA buildings and in public open spaces. We urge residents to do the same should they identify nests on their properties, either by doing it themselves, or by getting a service provider to do so.
Please click here to watch an informative video by Simon Allen, Val de Vie Estate’s environmental officer, in which he demonstrates a safe method of removing the wasp nests without using poisonous chemicals. (Acknowledgement: Val de Vie Estate)
Census 2022
Statistics SA is conducting a nationwide population and housing census during the months of February and March this year. Field workers are deployed during this time to gather information at, among others, private households such as those in Welgevonden Estate.
We will provide more detail of the census arrangements in Welgevonden Estate as soon as it becomes available.
Voliere Stellenbosch
Work has started on the Voliere Estate development on the Eastern side of Welgevonden Estate towards the R44. During a meeting we’ve had with a project engineer for the development, we can report the following regarding the provision of bulk services:
The developer will erect standard green shade cloth along the Fynbos Street perimeter on their side of the security fence from 59 Fynbos Street, all the way to 51 Haakdoring Street, including the properties in Sourfig Street.
A water truck will always be operational on the construction site to manage dust control.
Most of these services will require integration with the Stellenbosch Municipality’s infrastructure in Welgevonden Estate by extending this infrastructure into the new development. The installation of bulk services include the following:
Stellenbosch Municipality bulk water connection between erf 14831 and 14832
Stellenbosch Municipality sewerage connection between erf 14767 and 14768
Stellenbosch Municipality bulk water supply upgrade from the R44 to the Cloetesville reservoir in Hendrikse Street. (This bulk water upgrade will also boost the low water pressure that certain parts of Welgevonden Estate close to the new development often experience.)
Stellenbosch Municipality storm water connection at the existing storm water canal in erf 14763
Stellenbosch Municipality electricity upgrade between erf 14831 and 14832
We’ll provide more relevant information as it becomes available.
Open forum events: 2022
The monthly open forum events, implemented during 2020, will continue during 2022 – please see the dates below. These events take place at the administrative office, R44 entrance, from 18:00 to 18:30 on the last Wednesday of each month.
23 February
27 April
25 May
27 July
31 August
28 September
26 October
30 November
Please use the above after-hours opportunities to informally discuss matters that you would want to bring to the attention of the estate manager or Excom. At the same time, you are also welcome to make an appointment with me as estate manager to discuss matters of a more formal nature. Please send your requests for such meetings to admin@welgevonden.co.za.
Office hours
The office hours for the administrative office (R44 entrance) for walk-in enquiries remain as follows:
Mondays to Thursdays:
10:00 – 13:00
14:00 – 16:00
Fridays:
10:00 – 14:00
The office for biometric access control registration at the R304 entrance is open Mondays to Fridays from 08:00 to 16:30.
Best regards
Gawie Marx
Estate Manager
18 February 2022
