Dear Welgevonden Estate Homeowners and Residents
Welcome to the first Welgevonden Estate newsletter for the second half of 2022!
“A rather unusual introduction,” you may say.
Perhaps true. But, the point is that the year is speeding along like a freight train! So, hold on … and enjoy the ride!
Upgrading of the municipal water network
We’ve received notice from the Stellenbosch Municipality about the upgrading of the water network in Hendrikse Street, Cloetesville. This project – which will be running from 11 July to 31 October 2022 – is part of the upgrading of the water network in our area to supply municipal water to the Voliere Development. Welgevonden Estate will benefit from the project as it will also improve the water supply to those areas on the estate that are known for often having problems with municipal water supply.
Please click here to read the municipal notice.
Good performance acknowledged
As Welgevonden Estate homeowners and residents we are daily in contact with the security personnel on the estate. This might be a friendly smile from the person on duty at the entrance gate, or having a conversation with a shift supervisor in the control room about something related to estate rules or security.
Xone Security Services have detailed systems and procedures in place to ensure the optimal performance of our systems. One of these is the daily assessment of security teams while on duty. This is managed according to a comprehensive set of criteria.
At Welgevonden Estate the respective shifts compete for the Shift of the Month Award. The winning shift receives the monthly floating trophy, together with personal awards for the individual team members.
In the picture below, Haneline Hendricks – shift supervisor of the winning shift for June 2022 – is seen with Petrus Brandt, Welgevonden Estate security manager, and Johan de Wet, Xone Security Services contract manager for Welgevonden Estate.
Petrus Brandt, Haneline Hendricks and Johan de Wet
Landscaping
In our previous newsletter we reported on the appointment of Ruan du Plessis as Welgevonden Estate’s landscaping manager.
With Crown Landscaping’s contract with Welgevonden Estate coming to an end, the landscaping labour force for the estate will be taken over by Bidvest Top Turf from 1 August 2022. The same team will continue to work on the estate, but under Ruan’s instruction and supervision. With Bidvest Top Turf’s backing, the Welgevonden Estate team will benefit from the experience, training and support this company offers, also from a new look with new Bidvest Top Turf work wear!
On an operational level, this new organisational approach coincides with the installation of an irrigation system for the gardens and lawns on the estate’s open spaces, with water from the borehole recently sunk. This project will be done in phases, and should be completed by the end of the year.
More about Ruan
Ruan obtained a National Diploma in Landscape Technology at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in 2006, and has been working in this field since then.
When asked about his vision for Welgevonden Estate’s landscaping, he pointed out that the estate already has a firm landscaping base to build upon. It has the benefit of larger and smaller garden areas spread across the entire terrain which lends for interesting landscape pockets and designs. At the same time the current look and feel lacks a golden thread that ties everything together. “My focus will be to continue creating these interesting designs, but with an emphasis on making sure everything fits in with the bigger collective picture of the estate’s landscaping,” he says.
How does Ruan feel about working on Welgevonden Estate?
“It’s wonderful (heerlik!) to be working here! The estate has such a community feel with all the special people on the estate! I’m more than just an employee in the service of Welgevonden Estate, as I was welcomed by and taken up into the community from the first day when I started working here!”
What about a message for the people of Welgevonden Estate?
“Be bold! Create you gardens! Help make Welgevonden Estate beautiful!” he says.
And with an open invitation from Ruan to ask for gardening advice wherever you come across him, there is no reason why the Welgevonden people shouldn’t be daring, dashing and determined as far as their own gardening goes!
Ruan du Plessis
Best regards
Gawie Marx
Estate Manager
12 July 2022
