Dear Welgevonden Estate Homeowners and Residents
American philanthropist Rose Kennedy is quoted to have said the following: "Life isn't a matter of milestones, but of moments."
At the start of this new year my wish for the Welgevonden Estate community is that 2023 will be a special year, filled with ongoing wonderful and unforgettable moments. And – bringing milestones into the equation – may the sum total of these moments add up to something remarkable so that, at the end of the year, we’ll be able to look back and say: “Wow! What an outstanding milestone 2023 was for each one of us!”
A word of welcome!
Welcome to all new residents to Welgevonden Estate. We trust that you will soon settle in, and that you will be happy in this special community.
For those new to Welgevonden Estate who may not be aware, Welgevonden Estate is administrated according to the requirements of a homeowners association. In this regard it is managed in line with the provisos contained in a number of statutory and other documents specific to the Welgevonden Home Owners’ Association (WHOA). If you haven’t done so yet, please have a look at these documents on the Welgevonden Estate website to ensure you are up to date with what the WHOA requires from those who own properties and/or live here. Also feel free to contact the Welgevonden Estate office (admin@welgevonden.co.za) if you have any questions in this regard.
Current projects
Several key initiatives to enhance estate life on Welgevonden Estate are currently in progress. Two of these are the following:
Development of the Welgevonden dam area: The project to upgrade the Welgevonden dam for recreational purposes – approved by the members at the WHOA AGM 2022 – will soon commence when we’ll be appointing contractors for the project. We’ll provide more information as we move forward.
Irrigation infrastructure: Work is on schedule with the project to set up an irrigation infrastructure on Welgevonden Estate’s public green areas. Already the triangular green area around the coffee kiosk, the main green belt, as well as the Belladonna park are being irrigated with water from the borehole on the estate. The system for Welgevonden Boulevard between Sonnedou and Protea Streets, the green area adjacent to Weltevreden Estate, and Minaret park should be operational by the end of February 2023.
Artist impression of the upgrading of the dam area
Conduct and safety at the Welgevonden dam
We wish to reiterate that swimming in the Welgevonden dam is not advised, and that using the dam for swimming, rowing, and any other recreational activity will be at own risk.
The Welgevonden dam is not a swimming pool, but a farm dam. From the edge of the water, the floor of the dam has a sharp angle towards the bottom which leaves very little level area to be able to stand in the water. When full, the dam can be up to 7 m deep. (Please see the photograph below which gives perspective of the depth and the shape of the dam floor.)
We are, especially, concerned about unsupervised children often seen floating on lilos and similar swimming pool gizmos far away from the edge of the water. With no lifeguards on duty, it could prove fatal if a child, or anyone else, gets in trouble on the water unnoticed, or cannot be reached in time.
The following rules, amongst others, apply for the dam and surrounding area:
Minors must always be under adult supervision.
Liquor and other intoxicating substances are not allowed and is against the law.
Dogs must be on leash and are not allowed to swim in the dam.
Dog owners must at all times pick up their dogs’ stool and always remove it from the area.
Still on the topic of safety
Estate management frequently receives reports from our security personnel and from residents who witnessed incidents on the estate involving the safety and wellbeing of children. Some examples include:
Children playing and riding kiddies bikes in the streets, unsupervised.
Children, often of a very young age and unsupervised, seen riding on bicycles in the streets, with the risk of not being able to control the bicycles at speed, especially on the many streets that were built on an incline.
Child carers seemingly not in control of the children they are responsible for when they are out walking on the estate, or when taking them across the busy public road to the Stone Square shopping centre, often walking far ahead of them, or busy on their cellphones.
Child carers walking the streets with babies in prams during the hottest times of the day. (Security personnel, a few days ago, had to ask a child carer to cover the baby who was in a pram in direct sunlight while the outside temperature was in the vicinity of 40° Celsius!)
Young children walking their families’ dogs – often big and of a potentially aggressive nature – that they will not be able to control should things go wrong.
We ask parents to seriously consider the safety of their children. Please keep them off the streets and let them play in the Welgevonden Estate parks instead. Please also make sure that those you employ to take care of your children, are informed about the traffic hazards and other risks when taking them out for a walk or to play.
Limited public parking space
The reality of Welgevonden Estate is that it provides for limited public parking space. For this reason it was necessary to formulate and implement parking control measures that apply to the whole estate – please click here for more information.
In essence, residents may only park on their erven, and not on public parking areas, on pavements, or any other area on the estate, unless they have a special permit to do so.
Refuse bins
Please return black refuse bins that were put out for refuse removals on Fridays, to your erven on the same, or latest the next day. Inspections are done on Mondays to ensure that the estate’s rule regarding the keeping of refuse bins is adhered to. This rule – Rule 15.1 of the WHOA Estate Rules – reads as follows:
15.1 A refuse container must be kept on an erf in such a manner as to preventforaging as far as possible, and so that it is not visible from a communal facility or another erf.
A penalty of R500 applies for breaching this rule.
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 causes 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 honeybee 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 on 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 method of removing the wasp nests without using poisonous chemicals. (Acknowledgement: Val de Vie Estate)
Listed estate agencies: Welgevonden Estate
We remind Welgevonden Estate homeowners that several established estate agencies, together with their estate agents, are listed with the WHOA. We encourage homeowners to approach them when wanting to sell or rent out a property. Using them offers peace of mind, knowing that the selling or rental process will be in line with Welgevonden Estate's requirements.
These agencies and their agents have quarterly meetings with estate management to ensure they are up to date with the requirements of, and comply with, the relevant WHOA rules and Stellenbosch Municipality bylaws. They are committed to be a part of the success of Welgevonden Estate which, ultimately, translates into an improved return on investment for homeowners as they act in your best interest when representing you.
Please click here for more information and for their contact details.
Best regards
Gawie Marx
Estate Manager
19 January 2023
