The Grey Street Complex
The Group Areas Act No. 41 of 1950 was effected in the Natal province on March 30, 1951.
At this point, the Grey Street Complex was not allocated for a specific race group and remained an open trading area under this legislation.
More than a decade later, every fixed property under ownership or occupation of Indians was then controlled in terms of the Act in 1966, with legal restrictions prohibiting expansion or construction of fixed properties in this precinct, unless applications were made to obtain a permit.
This restriction on development continued until 1973 when this precinct was zoned for Indian commercial development, with legal restrictions imposed to prohibit residential development.
During the period of 1951 to 1973, very little development occurred and a large number of the applications made to obtain permits were not successful.
The restriction on residential development was only lifted on August 5 1983, under proclamation No. 115 of the Group Areas Act.
This concession was a sop to gain support from the Indian community for the largely discredited Tricameral Parliament, which was introduced in 1984.
The South African Indian Council (SAIC) was the precursor to the Tricameral Parliament.
The impact of the Group Areas Act forcibly removed a very large number of residents, thus affecting the functioning of cultural organisations and institutions developed by the community.
This outward movement of residents led to the collapse of many of these cultural and formal institutions.
Additionally, the legal restrictions imposed during the delayed proclamation further compounded the decrease in the number of residents in the Grey Street Complex.
Since the late 1980s, the gradual changes in the socio-demography of the complex, and ultimately the entire Durban CBD, led to a population that was heterogeneous both in culture and even nationality. Inevitably, many of the Indian vernacular schools began to close together with the cultural organisations, which managed them.
Significantly, the first cultural investment project in the precinct was the Kendra Hall and Ekta Mandir (temple) in 1993 by a group of businessmen of the Gujarati community, who prevented this part of the precinct from falling into decay.
The Kendra Hall with the Ekta Mandir was established on the former site of the Manilal-Valjee primary and Gandhi-Desai high schools which closed in 1992.
This was part of cultural revitalisation where the Gujarati and broader Hindu community could come together for socio-cultural and religious occasions in the Grey Street Complex.
South Africa’s peaceful democratic transition since the early 1990s created great expectations and hope for new beginnings for the disadvantaged, from rural areas as well as other parts of Africa and Asia.
While many foreigners arrived in South Africa in the early 1990s from various different countries throughout the world, those who established themselves in the Grey Street Complex were mainly from other parts of Africa and Pakistan.
Among the foreigners, there were refugees, asylum seekers, and many skilled artisans of various trades, and some who also had tertiary education qualifications.
Although many of the foreigners were legal, some had compromised border regulations and barriers to enter South Africa as part of their opportunity to find new hope.
Those who came to the Durban CBD and, in particular, to the Grey Street Complex, were primarily in search of employment – they came from all over South Africa and Africa.
Although they were mainly black communities, who came to the CBD, they were from different tribes and linguistic groups with various traditions and cultures.
This socio- demographic change altered the population profile not only for the Grey Street Complex but for the entire city.
The decentralisation of businesses led to the Indian community in this precinct selling as quickly as they could and relocating to areas where their target markets were more accessible.
Those who did not or could not sell, rented their properties to the new urban residents, who were in search of low-budget accommodation for business and residential purposes.
Indian businessmen, who retained ownership of their fixed properties let out their shop space to a number of entrants at low rentals.
Many who began their businesses failed as tenants to maintain the cleanliness, electrical switches and appliances as well as their relationships with their landlords as stipulated in their lease agreements.
Some individuals would stay in their shops and invite others to join them – unbeknownst to the owners, who did not regularly manage their fixed properties.
It was also common for many Indian property owners to leave the ownership and management of their buildings to their children or even grandchildren.
However, even future generations were reluctant to continue with the business dynasty.
An unexpected challenge that Durban faced in 1994 was “hijacked” buildings, often by criminal syndicates.
Some were either slum landlords or foreigners who decided to take control over the management of a fixed property by overpowering the staff and inhabiting the property without payment of rent.
Such a situation generally resulted from the non-appearance of the owner, thus it was not difficult to “hijack” the building.
Groups of “hijackers” would then collect rentals paid by residents in the property and would use this money as their own income.
Buildings were predominantly “hijacked” in the Carlisle Street area of this precinct.
“Hijackers” did not pay rates, which resulted in the lack of water and electricity supplies in the building.
In order to escape this barrier, they would turn to illegal connections of electricity and water, ultimately affecting the surrounding fixed properties.
Due to this ripple effect, the entire area declined as services were being compromised capital disinvestment in the Grey Street Complex escalated.
Another challenge was the increase in bars and taverns.
Since 1994, the Liquor Licensing Board began to grant liquor licences more frequently.
Liquor outlets began to increase in the Grey Street Complex.
This was particularly evident in Carlisle Street, Leopold Street and parts of Prince Edward Street – places where such outlets were previously not in existence.
Property owners permitted such outlets as this allowed their vacant ground- floor shops to be occupied by tenants, who were prepared to pay the above-market rental rates .
Although taverns, sports bars, bottle stores and night clubs were not the best form or quality of commercial use, it generated large incomes to cover maintenance expenses and brought in a profitable income to property owners.
The changing streetscape of the Grey Street Complex, ultimately altered the traditional form of the precinct as former residents knew it.
Thus this complex became a zone in transition by 1994 – it was cosmopolitan and transformed into a precinct which served a broader urban community.