Residents fight development
PHOENIX residents have vowed to prevent a property development company from building houses in a parking lot in their area.
The parking area is used by residents from Evengreen Circle, Ladygreen Place, Cleargreen Close and Peargreen Place in Greenbury. It also serves as a parking lot for Green Heights Primary School.
The community was notified about the housing project after the school received a notice from the property development company about the construction.
Denzel Dorasamy, a resident, said: “We’re objecting because the parking lot is used by residents. Our yards are small and when there are funerals or events, it provides a common space to use. It’s also used by the congregants of a nearby mosque but, most importantly, it serves as a car park for the school.
“The entrance of the school is on a main road, which is Greenbury Drive. In this area, there are other schools and the road is always busy. It’s dangerous for children to be dropped off.
“In the afternoons, it’s also dangerous for children to wait on the roadside to be picked up.
“The parking lot is at the side entrance of the school. This allows parents to park and escort their children through the school gates.”
Dorasamy said the school also had a hall that was built for events and hires it out to the community as a fund-raising initiative.
“If the parking area is used for housing, the hall will become a white elephant because there won’t be sufficient parking.
“We note and appreciate the government’s obligations to provide adequate housing to the community, but it cannot be at the expense of another constitutional priority, which is the provision of basic school infrastructure to all public schools.
“As a community, we wrote to the eThekwini Municipality wanting answers on how this plot was sold without anyone assessing the area or consulting with residents.”
Larence Pillay, 37, who has a son and daughter at the primary school, said: “It is dangerous to fetch our children from the entrance on the main road because some motorists drive recklessly. This parking area is convenient and safe.”
Sew Ramnath, 70, said: “I and other scholar transport providers wait in the parking area. The main road is busy and the only parking space available is the roadside. This is dangerous when transporting little children.”
Danny Govender, 68, a resident, said: “We will stop the development from going ahead. I have lived in the community for 45 years and this parking area is being used by the community.
“They cannot build without consulting us.”
The school governing body said in a statement: “The intended new development was reported to all stakeholders concerned, including the eThekwini Municipality and the Department of Infrastructure and Planning.
“We are still awaiting a response as we are merely custodians of the school and cannot legally take action against such developments.
“If the development is allowed to go ahead, then the safety and security of the more than 600 learners will be threatened as the only access to the school will be Greenbury Drive, which is a main road. The school also does not have a qualified state-paid scholar patrol to assist crossing of learners on this busy main road.
“With about six schools being situated on Greenbury Drive, catering to over 4 000 learners, you can imagine the chaos in the mornings and afternoons.
“By closing the access to the school and taking away this safe area for dropping off and picking up learners, we shudder to think of the number of lives that might be lost in the resultant added chaos.”
The property development company and the eThekwini Municipality did not comment by the time of publication.