Durban North residents lodged an objection with the eThekwini Municipality regarding the construction of a multi-unit complex.
On behalf of the residents, Friends of Beachwood Community co-ordinator Dennis Theron sent an email on Friday to the Land Use Management Branch of the eThekwini Municipality.
“84 Fairway is completely unsuited to an ad hoc multi-unit complex, and Fairway is a narrow road. Once a precedent gets set, there will be nothing to stop similar developments springing up right next door to any of us and on any residential property in Durban North,” added Theron.
He further said that this meant that there would be a demolition gang and a building site next to residents’ homes and that the development was coming from people whose sole interest was generating income with no regard for their neighbours or neighbourhood.
“In no time, Durban North will be irreversibly overwhelmed and over-populated with serious traffic congestion, blackouts, water stoppages, leaks and sewage problems happening far more frequently because; already, our city’s and suburb’s infrastructure is not coping and maintenance is not happening.
“If this happens, Durban North will be saturated with multi-unit developments and will lose its wonderful village-like character forever,” said Theron.
He encouraged the residents to stop the project in its tracks and hoped people would come to the party by filling in a few details, scan and email.
Some of the points raised in the email included that the area was residential and has houses in excess of R10 million. So by having the complex, it decreases the value of the other houses, and also interferes with the atmosphere of the area. A secondary point made was that the Fairway area was not designed/zoned for schools, shopping centres, entertainment and sporting amenities, but rather for residents wanting to live in an exclusive area, provided they had the financial means to do so.
As of 1.55pm on Monday, 15 objections were submitted by residents.
Theron said that although they were given 30 days to submit the objection, he was only alerted on Thursday.
He said that he had worked the whole weekend on the objection, and in spite of the short notice, he would do whatever he could to try to meet the midnight deadline.
Linda Parrott, who has resided in Durban North for more than 60 years, said the concerns she had were that a precedent was being set regarding increased residential density.
“This will increase the traffic in the area, and there will also be a higher demand on the already constrained service infrastructure,” Parrott said.
Ward 36 councillor Shontel De Boer said that there had been a few concerns about development in the Durban North area, and residents have decided to unite and submit objections regarding development.
“The current infrastructure isn’t coping as is, and by adding to that, sewage, waste, water and electricity was adding more strain.
“As a result, the strain on the infrastructure has a negative impact on the residents. The city is not putting money into the infrastructure like they should. Residents are unhappy with the rates that they are paying versus the service that they are receiving,” said De Boer.
De Boer said she submitted an objection to the city because the development would create problems, and those problems would become the council’s problem as residents would come to the council’s office.
eThekwini spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said the City received more than 33 objections and one included a petition with over 930 signatures.
“The applicant followed the public participation process as contained in the planning by-law. This included an advert in the newspapers, putting up notices of the application site and via registered mail notifying affected parties. The ward councillor was also notified. This is the legal process,” said Mayisela.
Mayisela said the application was still going through the legal process.
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