Current Edition >> Archives Section >> Leading Stories >> February 2008

Woodland Hills poised to accelerate injection into local economy

• Johann Dannhauser

The Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate development northwest of Bloemfontein is poised to further boost the already enormous economic injection the project is making not only into the Bloemfontein / Mangaung economy, but also into the wider Free State economy.

At this stage, Phase 1 of the estate with its excellent security ring fencing, encompasses 705 individual houses, 14 townhouse complexes with on average 14 residential units per complex, 9 group housing complexes with on average 16 residential units per complex, a lifestyle village with 145 residential units and a retirement village with 47 apartments and rooms, i.e. a total of 1 237 residential units. It is estimated that the estate is already home to some 500 families, with Phase 1 having the capacity to absorb another 700 families before it would be fully capacitated.

The planning of Phase 1 of Woodland Hills also provides for three business stands (for a business centre, a rehabilitation hospital and an office complex), a community centre, a place for instruction and 21 open spaces of various kinds and designs. Throughout the development the fine line of classy lifestyle combined with affordability has been maintained.

The surface area of Phase 1 is 287 ha, with the total area demarcated for the estate coming to 453 ha. 70% of this area is earmarked to remain as open space and nature and game areas.

With all the construction and development currently taking place at Woodland Hills, it is calculated that some 4 500 skilled and unskilled workers commute daily through the entrance gate of the estate to work in the estate. In other words, some 4 500 people every day find employment at Woodland Hills through contractors. Although this includes floating temporary jobs, it is nevertheless a reliable figure. It should be noted that this figure excludes professional people working on an intermittent basis on the project, e.g. architects, building contractors, engineers, etc.

If the earnings of the skilled and unskilled employees are calculated in monetary terms, it means an amount of approximately R450 000 per day, or R9,9 million per month. For a year it would mean some R109 million - a huge injection by all comparisons into the local economy.

Of course, there are also other economic spin-offs such as marketing turnover for building and construction materials, supplier and consultative services, consumer spending, corporate social investment, municipal income generated, etc., the vast magnitude of which is difficult to determine exactly.

However, at this stage this economic impact is set to be accelerated even more with the planning of Phase 2, a Gentleman's Estate, comprising a total of 600 residential units to be developed at a total material cost of some R450 million. This is to increase employment with an estimated 18 000 jobs, while it would also provide a further boost to resultant business turnover and consumer spending.

The application for the implementation of Phase 2 of Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate, situated next to the N1, has been submitted to the Mangaung Local Municipality and to the Free State Town Council. Should it be approved and the green light be given for implementation, it would certainly raise the already sizable economic injection by the Woodland Hills Wildlife Estate project to a higher next level. As such the momentum to the valuable boosting of local economic development would be maintained.