Mount Edgecombe or Mt Edgecombe is a gated community in KwaZulu-Natal,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

, situated just north of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

, which forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban Metropolitan area. It is famous for resorts and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

. It includes a

retirement home A retirement home – sometimes called an old people's home or old age home, although ''old people's home'' can also refer to a nursing home – is a multi-residence housing facility intended for the elderly. Typically, each person or couple in ...

. It was previously a sugar growing area. The population increased by 89% between 2001 and 2011 from 3,874 to 7,323. Its name is derived from the Earl of Mount Edgecombe in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Commerce

Mt Edgecombe has a sizable industrial sector with industries such as logistics (notably SPAR's distribution centre for perishables in KwaZulu-Natal) and hardware amongst others occupying Mt Edgecombe. The small commercial belt on the southern section of ''Flanders Drive'' (south of the M41) includes small office spaces, the Flanders Boutique Mall and a Kwikspar. On the northern section of ''Flanders Drive'' (north of the M41), lies another commercial belt comprising a string of motor delearships, automotive-related services, a few other industries and mostly notably the headquarters of the South African Sugar Research Institute and the South African Sugar Association – this makes Mt Edgecombe a pivotal hub for the South African sugar industry. Just north of the M41 and the CBD lies the Cornubia Mall, one of the largest shopping centres in Greater Durban which opened on 27 September 2017 and forms of

Tongaat Hulett Tongaat Hulett is an agriculture and agri-processing business, focusing on the complementary feedstocks of sugarcane and maize. The company had its origins on the North coast of KwaZulu-Natal, specifically the town of Tongaat. The company was f ...

Developments' planned Cornubia mixed-use development. The development which is located on former sugarcane lands also includes a new

Makro Makro is a Dutch international brand of warehouse clubs, also called cash and carry stores. Makro was founded by SHV Holdings, a Dutch conglomerate based in Utrecht in partnership with German company Metro AG, with the first warehouse club ...

store and the controversial

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plant.

Geography

Mt Edgecombe is situated on a gentle rolling terrain about 4 km inland from the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

on the uMhlanga Coast/North Region of eThekwini. Mt Edgecombe is situated approximately 14 km north-east of

and is bordered by uMhlanga to the east, Durban to the south-east,

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

to the east and sugarcane plantations to the north and south. Mt Edgecombe is broken up into the following areas: * The Central Business District (CBD) which lies on the western boundary of Mt Edgecombe and east of the R102. Its main street is ''Siphosethu Drive'' and includes offices spaces, schools and warehouses. * The industrial area which lies in west of the north-western part of Mt Edgecombe and is situated between the R102 to the west and the railway to the east, however a small portion does lie east of the R102 and to the west of the M41. * The largest area of space which accounts for 59% of Mt Edgecombe's total land area is the Mt Edgecombe Country Club Estate which is a residential golf estate centered around two championship golf courses of the Mt Edgecombe Country Club. The estate comprises Mt Edgecombe Country Club Estate 1 and Mt Edgecombe Country Club Estate 2 which is the largest component of the estate. * Although administratively part of Blackburn, the commercial belt north of the M41 is regarded as part of Mt Edgecombe.

Infrastructure

Healthcare

The only hospital in the Mt Edgecombe area is the Life Mount Edgecombe Hospital which is a private hospital owned by

Life Healthcare Group Life Healthcare Group, formerly Afrox Healthcare, is the second largest private hospital operator in South Africa, with 6,500 beds. It is also the largest black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of vi ...

. The hospital is located on the border between Phoenix and Mt Edgecombe in the Rockford suburb of Phoenix to the west of the R102.

Rail

Mt Edgecombe's railway station located on the eastern boundary of Mt Edgecombe's industrial area is served by the commuter railway service of

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

and lies on its ''North Coast Line'' connecting Mt Edgecombe to Verulam,

oThongathi oThongathi (previously and popularly known as Tongaat) is a town in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, about north of Durban and south of KwaDukuza. It now forms part of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, or the Greater Durban area. The area is ho ...

and

KwaDukuza KwaDukuza is a municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates small towns such as Stanger, Balito, Shaka's Kraal, but the Zulu people in the area called it "Dukuza" well before ...

in the north-east, Phoenix (railway station) in the south-west and Durban,

Amanzimtoti Amanzimtoti is a coastal town just south of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is well known for its warm climate and numerous beaches, and is a popular tourist destination, particularly with surfers. The annual sardine run attracts ...

, Kingsburgh,

Umkomaas Umkomaas, a small coastal village on the subtropical south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was formed when a harbour was built in 1861 to export sugar. The village rests beside the mouth of the navigable uMkhomazi River, also known as the ...

and

Scottburgh Scottburgh () is a coastal resort town located on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It situated south of the mouth of the Mpambanyoni River ''(confuser of birds).'' History Named after Natal Colony Governor John Scott, in 186 ...

in the south-east.

Road

Mt Edgecombe has access to two major highways in the eThekwini Metro, the N2 and the M41. The N2 '' Outer Ring Road'' runs past Mount Edgecombe bordering the town to the east and separating it from the bordering town of uMhlanga. The N2 highway links Mount Edgecombe to the King Shaka International Airport and KwaDukuza in the north-east and Durban and Port Shepstone in the south-west. Access from the N2 to Mt Edgecombe can be obtained through the M41 Mt Edgecombe Interchange (Exit 182). The M41 highway is a metropolitan freeway linking Mt Edgecombe to uMhlanga in the east and Durban in the south-east (via the M4). The M41 intersects the N2 at the ''Mount Edgecombe Interchange'' and borders Mt Edgecombe Country Club Estate to the north and the mixed-use development of Cornubia and the commercial belt to the south. Access to Mt Edgecombe from the M41 can be obtained through the ''Flanders Drive'' interchange. Other arterial routes in Mt Edgecombe include the R102 and M26. The

R102 The R.102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a British airship planned in 1930 but never built. The development of R.102 resulted from the Imperial Airship Scheme, when it became apparent that the R100 and R101 airships then being buil ...

''North Coast Road'' is a regional route bordering Mt Edgecombe to the west and links the town to Durban in the south-east,

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and New Germany in the south-west (via M5), Verulam in the north and King Shaka International Airport and oThongathi in the north-east. The R102 can be used an alternative route to the

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, a census division in Saint John Parish Australia *New South Wales North Coast, a region Canada *The British Columbia Coast, primarily the communiti ...

for motorists and commuters avoiding the oThongathi Toll Plaza on the N2 near oThongathi. The M26 ''Phoenix Highway'' links Mt Edgecombe to the neighbouring township of Phoenix to the west.

References

Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub