Mo Rush
October 9th, 2007, 11:54 PM
Culemborg vital to city development
By Erik Schaug
Now that the experts have come up with an acceptable plan for the extension to the container terminal at the North Eastern Breakwater, it might be an appropriate time to have another look at the development of Culemborg.
When the council was investigating various site options for the 2010 World Cup stadium, they were of the view that Culemborg would be the most appropriate. It seemed better located than any other site.
But what counted against Culemborg was the short amount of time available to get through all the necessary procedures before building could start. Nevertheless, the city council made a last-ditch effort to discuss the matter with Transnet, the owners of Culemborg. Perhaps, with good will on both sides and a healthy amount of midnight oil being burnt, it could still be done.
It was not to be. A meeting was held with Propnet on August 15, 2006, and the reasons why Propnet considered Culemborg non-viable for the stadium included the possible need for it as a storage area for containers. The recent environmental impact study done on the proposal to extend the area of the North Eastern Breakwater container terminal concluded that it would have a negative effect on the immediate environment; it would alter the movement of sand to the disadvantage of the properties on Woodbridge Island.
Notes taken at the meeting stated "As a result of the non-approval of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) for the widening, required to extend current stacking areas for containers, of the North Eastern Breakwater of the container terminal Portnet is currently undertaking a study as to possible alternative sites for container storage purposes. The Culemborg site, being Transnet owned, is being reserved as a fall back position for container storage, and the site will accordingly not be released for any long term development purposes until such time as the study is completed, which is provisionally estimated to be by July 2007."
Careful reading reveals the use of the words "stacking" and "storage" to describe what needs to be done with containers. It could have been inadvertent, but the impression is conveyed that because there might not be enough space at the container terminal itself for containers, Culemborg would have to be used for that purpose.
But there is a very big difference in what is meant by the "stacking" and "storage" of containers.
The days when ships tied up at the harbour for several days while cargo was laboriously loaded and unloaded with large nets suspended from cranes are gone - at least as far as container ships are concerned.
Nowadays container ships don't stay in port for days, but for hours. One of the huge advantages of containers is that they speed up the loading and unloading of ships.
When ships are loaded the cargo has to be carefully placed in the ship's hold. Heavy items need to go to the lowest part of the ship, and the load generally needs to be distributed so that the ship doesn't list to one side, or float with its bow too high or too low.
What "stacking" means, as opposed to "storing", is placing the containers at the wharfside in such a way that they can be loaded very quickly into the ship in the correct order and into the correct position.
This takes a lot of logistical skill. Once the port operators know when a particular ship is going to arrive, and what it's going to load and unload, they work out how this can be done most efficiently.
Other considerations, apart from the stability of the ship, include the unloading sequence at the ports of destination. Containers need to be unloaded at each port as efficiently as possible, always bearing in mind the stability of the ship when it leaves for the next port.
Once all these complex calculations are worked out, the containers are brought from where they are stored, and stacked in the correct sequence at the container terminal, right next to where the ship will dock. About three days are allowed for this procedure.
It is therefore clear that the storage area doesn't need to be in very close proximity to the stacking area - my contact at Safmarine said that a 20-minute drive is more than enough.
So the need for Culemborg to be turned into a giant Containers 'R Us is considerably less than one might conclude after reading the extract from the notes taken at the meeting. The prospect of one of the main parts of central Cape Town being taken up with lots of shipping containers piled (not stacked) high is not a pleasant one. Containers are 2.43 metres high, and six of them can be placed on top of each other, so Culemborg could be covered with containers to a height of over 14 metres - that's nearly the height of a five-storey building.
The good news is that the issue of not enough stacking space at the container terminal is going to be solved by going upwards, rather that sideways, eliminating the environmental problems that scuppered the earlier scheme.
There are existing leases in the Culemborg area, which will have to be honoured, but the way now seems clear for the council to engage with Transnet once again, to explore the prospect of the development of Culemborg. The 2010 stadium is no longer an issue, so the time constraints need not be a dealbreaker.
It was stated in the meeting notes that the council would have to purchase the land from the owners at market rates. How would the market rates be established? It could be argued that the owners have, de facto, "zoned" the site for the storage of containers, so the council could reasonably offer an equivalent amount of land suitable for storing containers within 20-minutes' drive of the container terminal as a direct swop.
Culemborg has the potential to become a vital part of the development of Cape Town. Studies have already been done, and they could be dusted off for consideration.
Without the need to build the stadium at Culemborg, planners and urban designers can work with more flexibility and more options. It is generally accepted that a mixed-use development would be a much better option than most, if not all other options, and here would be a prime opportunity to put this in into practice.
With its excellent connections to both the road and rail systems, Culemborg is very well situated for advantageous development. A mixture of commercial, retail, residential, cultural and institutional buildings - and many others - could turn a barren wasteland into something infinitely more agreeable than a container storage depot.
Also, there would be a great opportunity to explore and perhaps implement the idea of mixed housing; mixed in the sense of incorporating low-cost housing in a development which includes luxury dwellings.
There are arguments for and against this which must be carefully considered, but when Paris was rebuilt in the 19th century, it included many buildings which housed persons ranging from wealthy dukes to impoverished seamstresses. The poor lived at the top, in garrets (this was before lifts were invented) and the wealthy residents occupied the spaces nearer to ground floor.
These Parisian examples had the advantage that all the residents of a building, from wealthy to impoverished, shared a common language and culture. Mixing South Africans who come from different economic backgrounds, and who speak different languages with different cultures, is a much taller order. But such initiative could be thoroughly explored with a proper public consultation process, to gauge whether it might work. It could be designed in such a way that, if the worst happens and things went depressingly wrong, simple changes could be made to reconfigure the development to suit whatever reality emerged.
Culemborg has in its favour that its location in the heart of Cape Town with splendid views would appeal to the wealthy, and would be convenient for the poor, who would have the best possible access to work.
If Transnet were to agree to a direct swop for a similar-sized piece of ground further afield, the capital cost to the council for Culemborg would be so low that the provision of low-cost houses could be easily subsidised from the huge value of everything else that could be built.
# Schaug is a chartered architect and urban designer.
Published on the web by Cape Times on October 8, 2007. © Cape Times 2007. All rights reserved.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/432699142_ce6605b0be_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/432702301_436986e324_b.jpg
By Erik Schaug
Now that the experts have come up with an acceptable plan for the extension to the container terminal at the North Eastern Breakwater, it might be an appropriate time to have another look at the development of Culemborg.
When the council was investigating various site options for the 2010 World Cup stadium, they were of the view that Culemborg would be the most appropriate. It seemed better located than any other site.
But what counted against Culemborg was the short amount of time available to get through all the necessary procedures before building could start. Nevertheless, the city council made a last-ditch effort to discuss the matter with Transnet, the owners of Culemborg. Perhaps, with good will on both sides and a healthy amount of midnight oil being burnt, it could still be done.
It was not to be. A meeting was held with Propnet on August 15, 2006, and the reasons why Propnet considered Culemborg non-viable for the stadium included the possible need for it as a storage area for containers. The recent environmental impact study done on the proposal to extend the area of the North Eastern Breakwater container terminal concluded that it would have a negative effect on the immediate environment; it would alter the movement of sand to the disadvantage of the properties on Woodbridge Island.
Notes taken at the meeting stated "As a result of the non-approval of the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) for the widening, required to extend current stacking areas for containers, of the North Eastern Breakwater of the container terminal Portnet is currently undertaking a study as to possible alternative sites for container storage purposes. The Culemborg site, being Transnet owned, is being reserved as a fall back position for container storage, and the site will accordingly not be released for any long term development purposes until such time as the study is completed, which is provisionally estimated to be by July 2007."
Careful reading reveals the use of the words "stacking" and "storage" to describe what needs to be done with containers. It could have been inadvertent, but the impression is conveyed that because there might not be enough space at the container terminal itself for containers, Culemborg would have to be used for that purpose.
But there is a very big difference in what is meant by the "stacking" and "storage" of containers.
The days when ships tied up at the harbour for several days while cargo was laboriously loaded and unloaded with large nets suspended from cranes are gone - at least as far as container ships are concerned.
Nowadays container ships don't stay in port for days, but for hours. One of the huge advantages of containers is that they speed up the loading and unloading of ships.
When ships are loaded the cargo has to be carefully placed in the ship's hold. Heavy items need to go to the lowest part of the ship, and the load generally needs to be distributed so that the ship doesn't list to one side, or float with its bow too high or too low.
What "stacking" means, as opposed to "storing", is placing the containers at the wharfside in such a way that they can be loaded very quickly into the ship in the correct order and into the correct position.
This takes a lot of logistical skill. Once the port operators know when a particular ship is going to arrive, and what it's going to load and unload, they work out how this can be done most efficiently.
Other considerations, apart from the stability of the ship, include the unloading sequence at the ports of destination. Containers need to be unloaded at each port as efficiently as possible, always bearing in mind the stability of the ship when it leaves for the next port.
Once all these complex calculations are worked out, the containers are brought from where they are stored, and stacked in the correct sequence at the container terminal, right next to where the ship will dock. About three days are allowed for this procedure.
It is therefore clear that the storage area doesn't need to be in very close proximity to the stacking area - my contact at Safmarine said that a 20-minute drive is more than enough.
So the need for Culemborg to be turned into a giant Containers 'R Us is considerably less than one might conclude after reading the extract from the notes taken at the meeting. The prospect of one of the main parts of central Cape Town being taken up with lots of shipping containers piled (not stacked) high is not a pleasant one. Containers are 2.43 metres high, and six of them can be placed on top of each other, so Culemborg could be covered with containers to a height of over 14 metres - that's nearly the height of a five-storey building.
The good news is that the issue of not enough stacking space at the container terminal is going to be solved by going upwards, rather that sideways, eliminating the environmental problems that scuppered the earlier scheme.
There are existing leases in the Culemborg area, which will have to be honoured, but the way now seems clear for the council to engage with Transnet once again, to explore the prospect of the development of Culemborg. The 2010 stadium is no longer an issue, so the time constraints need not be a dealbreaker.
It was stated in the meeting notes that the council would have to purchase the land from the owners at market rates. How would the market rates be established? It could be argued that the owners have, de facto, "zoned" the site for the storage of containers, so the council could reasonably offer an equivalent amount of land suitable for storing containers within 20-minutes' drive of the container terminal as a direct swop.
Culemborg has the potential to become a vital part of the development of Cape Town. Studies have already been done, and they could be dusted off for consideration.
Without the need to build the stadium at Culemborg, planners and urban designers can work with more flexibility and more options. It is generally accepted that a mixed-use development would be a much better option than most, if not all other options, and here would be a prime opportunity to put this in into practice.
With its excellent connections to both the road and rail systems, Culemborg is very well situated for advantageous development. A mixture of commercial, retail, residential, cultural and institutional buildings - and many others - could turn a barren wasteland into something infinitely more agreeable than a container storage depot.
Also, there would be a great opportunity to explore and perhaps implement the idea of mixed housing; mixed in the sense of incorporating low-cost housing in a development which includes luxury dwellings.
There are arguments for and against this which must be carefully considered, but when Paris was rebuilt in the 19th century, it included many buildings which housed persons ranging from wealthy dukes to impoverished seamstresses. The poor lived at the top, in garrets (this was before lifts were invented) and the wealthy residents occupied the spaces nearer to ground floor.
These Parisian examples had the advantage that all the residents of a building, from wealthy to impoverished, shared a common language and culture. Mixing South Africans who come from different economic backgrounds, and who speak different languages with different cultures, is a much taller order. But such initiative could be thoroughly explored with a proper public consultation process, to gauge whether it might work. It could be designed in such a way that, if the worst happens and things went depressingly wrong, simple changes could be made to reconfigure the development to suit whatever reality emerged.
Culemborg has in its favour that its location in the heart of Cape Town with splendid views would appeal to the wealthy, and would be convenient for the poor, who would have the best possible access to work.
If Transnet were to agree to a direct swop for a similar-sized piece of ground further afield, the capital cost to the council for Culemborg would be so low that the provision of low-cost houses could be easily subsidised from the huge value of everything else that could be built.
# Schaug is a chartered architect and urban designer.
Published on the web by Cape Times on October 8, 2007. © Cape Times 2007. All rights reserved.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/432699142_ce6605b0be_b.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/149/432702301_436986e324_b.jpg