I wrote in my letter to the Trustees:
I don’t know the owner of P89 but this stand borders the Parkland and has wide views over it. It is a lovely position and I considered buying it. You now plan to build a house on the Parkland next to his home. Do you not realize that the enjoyment and value of his home would be substantially diminished?
Gill Roberts, the owner of P89, came around to my house yesterday. She had found this blog, and wanted to thank me for opposing the Trustee's plan to build houses next to them. She told me of the sleepless nights she and her husband, Brian, had had when they got the proposal from the Trustees. In her recent email to me she wrote:
I wish that we had been in the loop right from the beginning – it would have alleviated a lot of stress on our side. Thank you yet again for taking such a firm stand in this matter. As I said yesterday we felt like we were going to be fighting this all on our own.
Here is their letter, (emphasis added by me in bold):
Dear Peter and Trustees,
I refer to the letter from the Trustees and our telephone conversation regarding the proposed development of the additional 15 erven in the South East corner of the island.
First and foremost the letter (entitled “Motivation as issued”) is blatantly wrong and misleading in stating:
"The Development will not
• Detract from existing members’ views or negatively affect their lifestyle..."
Nothing could be further from the truth as far as we are concerned. At P89 we have unrivalled views and a lifestyle second to none on the island, both of which will be destroyed if this development is allowed to continue.
We have been coming to Knysna for almost 20 years for holidays, most of which were spent in a small apartment which we bought in the early years. In 2004 we decided to start looking for something a little better and more in line with a possible retirement venue. We spent seven long years looking, including looking at many properties on Thesen. These were always rejected for lack of privacy and views.
Finally in 2011 we discovered P89 and it was everything we dreamed of, and only one direct neighbour. We have the Thesen lifestyle, but with privacy, we have views and most of all, we have somewhere to retire to in the future.
The view from our bedroom balcony at sunrise is something we marvel at every day and we like nothing better than to have our early morning coffee while watching the sun come up over the hills. If the proposed development goes ahead then all we will have is a view into other peoples’ bedrooms and living rooms and a view over the trailer park. Even sitting outside in our garden or on the patio will mean that we will have neighbours peering down on us.
We were told that we need never fear that our view would be compromised in any way because not only was all development on the Island completed, but that the land in front of us was contaminated and could never be utilised other than for landscaping and gardens.
It will be so very unfair to put this vote to all the homeowners as they will most likely vote “Yes” to something that will not have the slightest impact on their lifestyle or on their pockets.
We on the other hand have everything to lose – our lifestyle will change dramatically. Our beautiful view and privacy which we hold so dear will be taken from us permanently. This is indeed asking a very high price from us.
We feel that the fairest way to achieve the target of R10 million would be to impose a special levy on everyone so that each homeowner has equal responsibility towards attaining this very important and very necessary goal.
In conclusion we would like to emphasise that we are vehemently opposed to your proposal to build 15 properties in front of our dream house.
We trust and hope that you will seriously consider our heartfelt concerns in making your decision.
Yours sincerely,
Brian and Gill Roberts
89 Plantation Point
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