EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

CHAPTER 3

SITE DESCRIPTION

3.1 Project Site Location

Located at Bois Sec, along Bois Chéri - Grand Bassin B88 road, the proposed project site falls
under the administrative jurisdiction of Savanne District Council. Bois Chéri, the nearest
residential village, is situated around 1.9 km to the North East of the project site. As shown in
the “Development Management Map 2011 of the Outline Planning Scheme for Grand Port-
Savanne District Council Area” enclosed in ANNEX 5, the site falls well outside the settlement
boundary of Bois Chéri. “Plot P” presently lies amidst a vast extent of land partly under golf
course and cart path, with the constructed internal road network.

There are no public institutions such as schools, hospitals and religious places in the immediate
surroundings of Avalon Golf Estate. The office of the Forestry Service of Bois Sec lies opposite
the junction between the Bois Chéri - Grand Bassin B88 road and the access road leading to
the main gate of Avalon Golf Estate. A location plan is enclosed in ANNEX 1.

The Black River Gorges National Park and Grand Bassin located at 520 m and 4 km
respectively to plot P are the nearest places of interest and recreational areas from the
proposed project site. “Le Bois Chéri Restaurant”, featuring a tea factory, lies to the North East
of Avalon Golf Estate.

3.2 Site Characteristics

3.2.1 Existing Features and surrounding environment

Avalon Golf Estate comprises five major projects components namely:

(a) The Golf course (EIA licence granted on August 2012, ref ENV/DOE/EIA/1555) operational
since December 2015.
(b) A residential morcellement (EIA licence granted on May 2013, ref ENV/DOE/EIA/1575),
which was completed in November 2016.
(c) A RES development on plot Q (EIA licence granted on September 2014, ref
ENV/DOE/EIA/1616) for which RES certificate was issued in October 2015.
(d) A helipad near the country club (PER licence granted on October 2015, ref
ENV/DOE/PER/809).

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

(e) Two proposed PDS developments on distinct plots of land, namely P and R.

The present report pertains to the development of “Plot P”, also known as Badon Village, into
luxurious villas based on the PDS model.

“Plot P”

The site earmarked for the proposed undertaking is a freehold property.

There are no objects of cultural or historical importance on the site. The site also does not form
part of any “patrimoine” of national importance.

There are no rivers or feeders crossing the site. However, the start of Feeder Bain des
Negresses is located 51.97 m South to the site while Feeder Cresson flows at 70.82 m away to
the North of the site. Feeder Beau Bois is located 74.52 m to the North East of the site.

Works have been completed for the road infrastructure, including the buried services for power,
water and telecommunication supply to the future villas. “Plot P” is covered by grass and some
invasive vegetation. The fauna and flora prevailing at Avalon Golf Estate is further detailed in
section 3.6 below.

Figure 1 depicts the existing features of “Plot P” and its environs: -

Plate 1a: View of v-drain

along road alignment and
access to lots in plot P

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Plate 1b: View of golf

course and golf cart track
towards the East

Plate 1c: View of lots in

plot P and Range Peak
towards the West

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Plate 1d: View of start of

Feeder Bain des
Negresses South to plot
P, in direction of RES Q
Figure 1: Plates 1a to 1d showing an overview of “Plot P” and its environs

Avalon Golf Estate

Avalon Golf Estate which encompasses a mixed development project, of which “PDS P” forms
part of, was formerly a property of The Union Sugar Estates Company Ltd and was under
sugarcane plantations. Managed by Arthur and Morgane Ltd, during the recent past years, the
land was also cultivated with crops like tomatoes, maize and other type of vegetables.

Within the heart of a pristine natural setting surrounded by nature reserve, tea plantation and
wooded hills, Avalon Golf Estate lies away from conurbations. At its southern boundary, a
breathtaking view of the sea can be observed. The periphery of Avalon Golf Estate bordering
River Savanne is already fenced.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Civil and landscaping works on site have progressed substantially since 2013. The inauguration
of the country club was done in October 2015 while that of the golf course was held in
December 2015. All infrastructural works within Avalon Golf Estate have been completed and a
morcellement permit was delivered to Arthur and Morgane Ltd in November 2016.

• Golf Course & Cart path

-Shaping of all 18 holes of the golf course and driving range.
-Drainage and irrigation system installed.
-Golf cart path completed.
• Country club and Maintenance building
-Technical building operational.
-Restaurant, changing room facilities, shoe cleaning room and boutique operational.
-Swimming pool and kid’s corner, game room, boardroom and multipurpose hall as well
as outdoor sports facilities completed.
• Road infrastructure
-Main accesses and secondary accesses including installation of kerbs and drainage
completed.
• Landscaping and Plant nursery
-Trees, shrubs and flowers from the plant nursery have been utilised in the landscaping
of the site.
-Existing trees within the estate are being preserved and maintained.

A master plan provided in ANNEX 7 indicates the location of “PDS P”.

Geometrically a parallelogram, Avalon Golf Estate is bordered as follows:

• To the North by State land.

• To the North West by State Land Barlow TV 351 no. 223.
• To the West by State Land Bois Sec TV 223 no.231.
• To the South West by Rivière des Chevrettes (A tributary of Rivière Savanne), The
Union Sugar Estate Co. Ltd, surplus of Combo 410A 43P TV 518 No 178 and Rivière
Savanne itself.
• To the South by St Aubin Sugar Estate. Plot R lies close to the southern boundary of
Avalon Golf Estate.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

• To the East by State Land (155 Arpents), Rivière Ruisseau Marron, St Aubin Sugar
Estate and Rivière Gros Ruisseau.

The Avalon Golf Estate is mainly surrounded by Tea plantation and Sugarcane fields.

A comprehensive land use map showing the surrounding neighbourhood of Avalon Golf Estate
and salient features within Bois Chéri and Grand Bois villages is provided in ANNEX 8.

3.2.2 Access to site

Access to Avalon Golf Estate is primarily through the Bois Chéri - Grand Bassin B88 road. The
main access road (referred to as road 2 in Figure 2 below) is a 7.0 m wide double carriageway
road with 2.0 m road reserves that is asphalted. The site can also be accessed either through
Bois Chéri (referred to as road 3 in Figure 2 below) or from the South via the Grand Bassin
public road (referred to as road 1 in Figure 2). Entrance and exit to/from Avalon Golf Estate are
controlled from security gate check posts.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Figure 2: Access to site

Details of the 3 roads are provided as follows:

Road no.1 – Grand Bassin public road starts from Bois Chéri - Grand Bassin asphalted B88
road and covers an approximate distance of 2.43 km from the take-off point to the entrance of
Avalon Golf Estate. The track road adjoins the selected site on its western boundary. This public
access has been upgraded to a 7 m wide asphalt road with 2 m road reserves on each side
within Avalon premises.

Road no.2 – The main access to Avalon Golf Estate starts from Bois Chéri - Grand Bassin B88
road and runs over a distance of 1.77 km from the branch point to the main gate of Avalon Golf
Estate.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Road no. 3 – This track road branches off from Bois Chéri- Grand Bassin B88 road and covers
a distance of approximately 3.10 km towards the northeastern boundary of the site. Track road
no. 3 will be maintained as is.

The site in question, plot P, is accessed via an internal road network. The secondary internal
access road is 6.0 m wide with 2 m road reserves on both sides. Figure 3 shows the road
access to the site.

Forestry Service
To To
Grand Bassin Bois Chéri
B88 Road
Entrance to Avalon
Golf Estate Plate 2a: View of junction of
access road with B88 road

Plate 2b: View of main

access road to Avalon Golf
Estate

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Street lighting

v-drain
Pedestrian
pavement

Plate 2c: View of internal

access road within Avalon
Golf Estate with street
lighting, pavement and drain

Figure 3: Plates 2a-2c showing access to site

3.3 Geological and Topographical Characteristics

3.3.1 Topography

Some natural sloping towards the southern boundary of the site, marked the overall topography
of “Plot P”. The height of the site Above Mean Sea Level (AMSL) varies between 420 m on its
northwestern boundary and 400 m on its South East boundary. It is estimated that the slope of
the overall terrain is 4.5%.

A topographical plan for “Plot P” is enclosed in ANNEX 1.

3.3.2 Geology

The geology of Mauritius is dominated by deposits of volcanic origin composed essentially of

basaltic lavas. According to the FAO/MSIRI Land Resources and Agricultural Suitability Map of
Mauritius, the proposed site falls in an area categorised as “northeastern, eastern and southern
intermediate Lava plains and slopes”. The area is mapped as Land Unit No. 3.3 and 3.4.
Classified as being almost flat to gently undulating, the landforms of the site have a general
slope seawards from the Central Plateau and rolling in places as moderately steep slopes.

Figure 4 shows the project site on the geological map of Mauritius.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Figure 4: “Plot P” on Geological map

3.3.3 Soil type

The soil type found at the project site is classified as Humic Ferruginous Latosols, consisting of
brown stiff silty clay and silt with loose boulders.

Figure 5 below shows the project site on the soil map of Mauritius.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Figure 5: Site on soil map

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

3.4 Climate

3.4.1 Temperature

The average monthly temperature at the proposed site ranges from 16°C to 18°C in winter and
22°C to 24°C in summer.

3.4.2 Rainfall

Bois Sec lies within a humid region. Annually, “Plot P” receives over 3,600 mm of rainfall. There
are also occurrences of isolated and unpredicted torrential rains hitting over the country during
the recent years which caused flash floods. Heavy rainfall is normally registered during cyclonic
season, especially during the wettest month, February and March.

3.4.3 Wind regime

The prevailing wind, blowing over the site, is the South East Trade Wind. Surrounded by
wooded hills, the site is shielded from the action of wind. The nearest settlement zone, Bois
Chéri village, is located some 1.9 km away from the site. As such, any excavation work related
to construction activities is unlikely to cause problem to the nearest inhabitants in terms of noise
and dust nuisances.

3.5 Hydrology

3.5.1 Water courses

A number of watercourses in the form of rivers and feeders run across Avalon Golf Estate.
However, there are no rivers or feeders crossing plot P.

Feeder Bain des Negresses has its source located 51.97 m South to the site and Feeder
Cresson flows some 70.82 m to the North, while Feeder Beau Bois is located 74.52 m towards
the North East direction. The rivers and feeders that cross or adjoin Avalon Golf Estate are
listed in Table 4.

All the watercourses are also indicated on the master plan enclosed in ANNEX 7 and site layout
plan enclosed in ANNEX 9.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Table 4: Watercourses within and near to Avalon Golf Estate

Tributaries of Rivière des Flow Shortest perpendicular

Anguilles that cross distance (m) from watercourse
Avalon Golf Estate to boundary line of “Plot P”
Rivière Gros Ruisseau Perennial river 541.94 m (East)

Feeder Cresson, Augustin

and Edmond are tributaries
of Rivière Gros Ruisseau
Feeder Beau-Bois Intermittent 74.52 m (North East)
Feeder Cresson Perennial 70.82 m (North)
Feeder Edmond Intermittent 366.52 m (North East)
Feeder Augustin Intermittent 524.31 m (North East)
Rivière Ruisseau Marron Intermittent river 680.88 m (North East)

Feeder Rivet is a tributary of

Rivière Ruisseau Marron
Tributary to Feeder Intermittent 301.18 m (East)
Enterrement
Tributaries of Rivière Bain Flow Shortest perpendicular distance
des Negresses that cross (m) from watercourse to
Avalon Golf Estate boundary line of “Plot P”
Feeder Bain des Intermittent 51.97 m (South)
Negresses
Water courses that adjoin Flow Shortest perpendicular distance
Avalon Golf Estate (m) from watercourse to
boundary line of “Plot P”
Rivière Savanne Perennial river 123.14 m (West)

Rivière des Chevrettes is a

tributary of Rivière Savanne

There are two off-takes on Rivière Ruisseau Marron, a tributary of Rivière des Anguilles, for
domestic water supply and sampling purposes (Hydrological year book, 2006-2010). These two
off-take points are located upstream of Avalon Golf Estate premises. Figure 6 and Figure 7
show the catchment and the schematic diagram of Rivière des Anguilles respectively.

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Figure 6: Catchment of Rivière des Anguilles

Figure 7: Schematic diagram of Rivière des Anguilles catchment

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

3.5.2 Water canal

There is a servitude water canal for St Aubin Estate, known as Combo canal crossing the
northern part of Avalon Golf Estate that connects Rivière des Chevrettes to Feeder Cresson.
The water canal has been maintained and will be incorporated into the general landscape of
Avalon Golf Estate.

3.6 Fauna and Flora

Throughout the year, Avalon and the surrounding environs dwell a wide variety of tropical and
endemic birds who are attracted to the remaining flora that exists on site. The Mauritian bulbul,
Pink pigeon and the Paradise fly catcher can be seen fluttering around the site. Other bird
species such as introduced Indian Mynah (Martin), Sparrow (Moineau), Red-whiskered bulbul
(Condé), and Madagascar Fody (Cardinal) are also seen on site.

Feeder banks within Avalon feature natural greenbelts of floral species consisting of a few
native and endemic trees. Native flowering plants include Bois Canne, Palmiste Rouge, Bois
Banane, Figuier sauvage, Bois Balai, Bois Maigre, Bois Manioc while introduced flowering
plants include Ravenale, Goyave de Chine, Tea plants, Jamrosa, Privet, Vieille fille, and
Chevrefeuille. Ferns such as Fandia may also be found in Avalon Golf Estate. The native
species of high ecological importance will be preserved and maintained at all costs. Additional
endemic trees will be planted to promote the natural beauty of the site.

The project site on plot P is mostly covered with grasses. Figure 8 depicts the flora present on
plot P: -

Figure 8: Overview of flora on plot P

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

Moreover, there is a nursery of endemic/exotic plants found within Avalon premises to support
the plantation program. Figure 9 shows the nursery facility. Among the various plants, there are
some Bois de Reinette, Bois de natte, Baume de l’ile plate, Bois pomme, Bois café, Bois de
chandelle, Bois de carotte, Bois d’Ebene and Acacia indigene, cultivated in the nursery.

Plate 3a: Endemic plants at

nursery facility

Plate 3b: Exotic plants at

nursery facility

Figure 9: Plates 3a-3b show the nursery facility at Avalon Golf Estate

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EIA Proposed Property Development Scheme project on “Plot P” of Avalon Golf Estate at Bois Sec

3.7 Existing Infrastructure

3.7.1 Power supply

The High Tension (66 KVA) overhead transmission line belonging to the CEB that crosses the
site along the Grand Bassin road has been replaced by underground cables in November 2015.

“PDS P” will be alimented by the same underground electricity distribution cables as for the
whole Avalon Golf Estate project. The estimated total power requirement for PDS P would be of
the order of 340 kW. A clearance issued by the CEB for the provision of electricity to the
residential developments at Avalon Golf Estate project is enclosed in ANNEX 10.

3.7.2 Water supply

The overall water demand of Avalon Golf Estate would be met by 6 existing boreholes within the
project site. The boreholes are located within the previous golf course and residential
morcellement projects to exploit groundwater resources to meet the water demand for the whole
Avalon Golf Estate. The boreholes licences issued by the Central Water Authority (CWA) are
enclosed in ANNEX 6.

As mentioned in Chapter 2 section 2.4, Arthur and Morgane Ltd has made an application to the
CWA for the renewal of 3 boreholes (BH 1145, BH 1208 and BH 1210). A copy of the
correspondences from the CWA relating to the processing of the application and renewed
borehole licence are attached in ANNEX 6.

In September 2016, Arthur and Morgane Ltd has requested the cancellation of 3 boreholes (BH
1144, BH 1165 and BH 1209). Accordingly, the CWA has requested the promoter vide letter
dated 15 March 2017 to seal these 3 boreholes. A copy of the letter from the CWA relating to
BH 1144, BH 1165 and BH 1209 is also enclosed in ANNEX 6.

At present, only 1 borehole (identified as borehole no. BH 1210) is in operation, given the low
water consumption. It supplies water to a common domestic water reservoir of capacity 1,000
m3. From thereon, potable water will be supplied to all the villas.

The locations of the boreholes and water reservoir are shown in the master plan provided in
ANNEX 7.

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