Restoration of farmhouse on the cards
There are plans to restore and preserve the historic Horwood’s Farmhouse in Edenvale.

Pending receipt of a permit, restoration of the farmhouse can start as early as November.
“Permission to proceed with the renovations aimed to preserve the farmhouse has been delayed for a permit from the Heritage Council,” spokesperson for the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM), Mr Samuel Modiba, said.
He added that council would only pursue its plans to revive the farmhouse when it has the permit.
“If the tender process is successful, the anticipated date for the Horwood’s Farm contractor to be on site is November and the work should be completed by the end of March, 2014,” Mr Modiba said.
“Heritage facilities are managed by the heritage division which has development plans for all these facilities,” Mr Modiba said.
These plans will be executed in terms of council’s priorities and as budgets allow.
According to the Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA), municipalities should ensure where possible that land or properties fetch market value.
This spurred concern for smaller social clubs and organisations which regularly make use of council-owned properties such as Horwood’s Farm.
Theoretically, under the act social clubs, which currently pay a small fee to make use of properties such as the community centre and Horwood’s Farm, would pay considerably more.
Mr Modiba reassured clubs in the area that “the new policy in line with the MFMA has not been implemented due to the unaffordable nature of the valuation amounts to be paid”.
“The EMM embarked on a process and identified a portion in the Systems Act that allows local authorities to charge a promulgated tariff instead of a market-related tariff or where a tariff is to the benefit of a community,” Mr Modiba said.
Recently, rumours had spread through the community that the EMM intends to sell off municipal properties such as Horwood’s Farm to the highest bidder.
“The EMM does not intend selling its large parks, however, if it does, public participation in terms of the Municipal Systems Act shall take place,” Mr Modiba said.
Under the Systems Act, public participation only needs to take place if the right to control or manage the asset exceeds 36 months and if the asset is valued at more than R10-million.