Woodstock residents face eviction.
Given eight months to leave their homes in Albert Road
THE FUTURE of 15 Woodstock residents, who live in a block of flats in Albert Road, hangs in the balance after a court ruled earlier this month that they had to vacate their homes in eight months’ time.
One of the residents, Faghmeeda Desiree Ling, who lives in her home with her children, said: “I’ve lived in Woodstock all my life and now the City wants to move us to Wolverivier.” She said the court ruling had shocked her and the Woodstock residents who had tirelessly campaigned against the Albert Road residents being moved to Wolwerivier.
“It angers me because the council is so adamant about moving us to Wolweriver. That is now our alternative. This proves that the City does not want us to be in the inner city, and that they don’t care.”
Delia June Fielies is adamant that she will not leave her home. “We are human, we are not animals. They want to make Woodstock a rich person’s paradise,” she said. Fielies lives in her partly dilapidated home with her grandchildren.
The 15 residents were given eviction notices after a disagreement with their landlord over allegedly not paying rent for more than a year. The eviction notices were served on them in March and April last year. The City initially offered the group emergency housing in Wolwerivier, which is situated off the N7 near Melkbosstrand, and in Blikkiesdorp and Delft. The residents rejected this offer, requesting that the City erect structures for them on vacant land close to where they live.
Magistrate Paul Jethro ruled that if the residents failed to vacate their homes by March 9 2019, they would forcibly be evicted by the sheriff of the court.
Reclaim The City, an organisation that campaigns for the development of affordable housing in the inner city, said: “The courts compromise and try to find a balance when we need them to be bold and declare displacement to relocation camps unjust.” The City’s mayoral committee member for transport and urban development, Brett Herron said: “When I gave evidence (in the court case) I indicated to the court that based on the information I had the vast majority of the tenants qualified for social housing.”