City off road track/training

[ROOFER]

Guys a quick question how does one go about to open a 4x4 track for training and just some fun driving with all obstacles and a play pen .
I would like to explore the pro's and con's of that and this will be in the southern suburbs , any advice will be greatly appreciated .
Who do we speak to what do we have to have in place to get the ball Rolling

Seriously chaps can it work ,any input will be welcome will it work . just a thought

[zepplin]

Start with a big piece of land and a TLB.

[Rusti]

Hi Charl,

You would have to aproach council and ask for the zoning department. Then ask them for the zoning rights that your land will have and discuss your proposal with them. The Zoning department deals with the types of things that you are allowed to do with your land in your zone. For example residential zones are not allowed to be used for farming or as a business etc. Farm land cannot be used to build a property development etc.

You can have a property re zoned but you will need neighbours consent for that and even if all the neighbours agree our SA system can still take a year or 2.

Where about are you considering this project? I would think that Philipi is the closest open area to the southern suburbs..

Once you have been to see the zoning department (take your property street address and erf number with you) and you are confident that you will get approval for it, you need to have someone design the route and the club house and anything else you want to build on it. Thats what i do for a living. I draw up plans etc and all other technical things related to architecture.. When your finished with that you submit it to council and the process begins.

Hope this helps. Best of luck!

[ROOFER]

Thanks Steve ,that's my first stop a Biggggggg piece of
land what is a TLB

Hi Rusti !
Thanks for the most valuable info, just need to secure land for now and get a basic
layout of the track and get the wheels rolling.

Rusti do you do track layout as well ?
When all is in place we will have to chat

Regards

[ChrisF]

Also speak to THYS on this forum.

Step one would be the zoning issues

Step two would be a mini fortune to create the facilities. Bear in mind you will be in direct competition with some of the big training names in Joburg. These guys already have mini conference facilities for the theory training. Then a compact area for the basics training, ie hill-stall-start, break over angles etc. Then a longer route where people can practice these skills .... bear in mind at this point poepelle, skuus people, do get it wrong .... TWO people in front of me messed up the reverse stall start, this after PROPER training, both ended up into trees !!

Step three - now you need a team of registered trainers ... no ways you can do it all on your own, you need many hands when you have a big group. Do you want to hire in registered trainers ? Do you want to become a registered trainer your self ? Whole new world to explore ....

Step four - now half a fortune later you can go door to door to try and win over corporate clients from the established trainers.


frankly NOT an easy business model !!!!!! You only go down this road if it is your PASSION. This is not a get rich quick thing.



Charl this will be a massive financial layout. Best you spend the first few randelas by attended two or three different training sessions, just to see how the others do it.

[Rusti]

Hi Charl,

No need to thank me.. I'm around the corner from you so if you build it I will be there all the time...

Ive never designed a track layout before but for council they are not worried about where each hill climb or mud track will be. They just want a plan of the whole erf showing where the whole track is and where the training centre will be etc. Then they want to see how the building is going to be constructed to ensure its safe for people. I can do all of that for you easily but I suggest you get an expert 4x4 trainer to help design where the hills and the mud and all that go.. Because of their specific experience they would be the best to do that part. Then I can put it on the plans for council with the drawings of the buildings etc that I would do and then it goes into council.

Regarding finances etc I don't think you need a ton of cash to get this started. If you dont want to buy a MASSIVE piece of land you can aproach farmers in the area and use their land for longer training routes without having to create new tracks and just do the basics at your smaller piece of land. You can also get a major training company on board to open a branch on this side. They can then advertise etc and use their reputation to bring in clients.

Another example of this type of business is the paint ball range in grassy park. They would have had to go to zoning etc and follow all the same council procedures that you will have to so you should go speak to them and see what they had to do and how long it took etc. This will let you know what you are in for..

[pietpetoors]

Wonder if one would have to do an environment impact study to get approval?

I think even on a farm you may only use existing tracks and may not build new tracks.

[ROOFER]

Ok thanks guys for the in put , the idea is to first secure the land , with zoning and impact study, enviromental study sorted .
The idea is to definitely get Thysd in on the action get some of the big deal guys to use the facilities as a home base .
I have no intention at this stage to be come an instructor /trainer .
I will facilitate and host those who pitch up on any given day .
The idea is that you are there entirely at your OWN risk with an indemnity form you sign at the entrance if you are driving the track or just kuier.
For starters it will be a fun track for all to use with the Hilux club naturally getting a head start and some ad space.

Well every thing has to start with a dream

[Rusti]

Hi Peter,

You are correct. An (EIA) will be required. But if Shell can get them to say that fracking is harmless then Charl shouldn't have a problem. It's all just formalities/ part of the process.

Best of luck Charl. Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more queries etc.

[ROOFER]

Thanks believe me I won't.

[ThysdJ]

I only see this now. Sorry guys, I have been a little bit absent here lately.

Charl, depending on the zoning of the land you might need an EIA, but that should be a formality. All the strict EIA and Driver Competency requirements went out the door with NOW, and is not in any kind of enforceable state at the moment. That does not mean we can mess up as we wish, we still need to adhere to the municipal/provincial zoning regulations.

Once you have a suitable piece of land where you can do your thing one can start looking at the track layout. There are a few guys on this forum that can help you design a track that can cater for all levels of expertise. Something along the lines of Melkbos4x4?

As far as training is concerned, this is a very hard nut to crack. We have been at it for more than 5 years and it still is a daily grind to get people to train, and there is no real big money in it. We do it for the love of it mostly. That is why almost all of the 1000's of 4x4 Academies that shot up in 2010 when accredited training came on the scene, has closed down, or given up. At the moment in Cape Town most if not all of the 4x4 driver training outfits are affiliated to some big organisation like a motor manufacturer etc.... Even we have ties with Wegry/Drive-Out, so we are not 1000% independent.

We will be available to help wherever we can..

[ROOFER]

Thanks ThysdJ , my idea is to get it off the ground with minimal fuss and just to get the ball rolling first .
I am in negotiations for the Land at the moment so that is my first priority also making sure we are able to use the land for this purpose .
Personally I think the mere fact that there will be a playground & training facility in the southern suburbs will already be a draw card , even if it is just to spend an hour or so on the track for newbies and ( harde baarde )
the experienced it will be good , get the gob webs cleared .

So the process is on the roll .
I will give feed back as it starts to unfold.

Thanks to all who's given some input