A new residential development on Kelly Road in Primrose Hill has raised concerns among some Bedfordview community members.
Ward 20 Clr Jill Humphreys said there were many concerns regarding the development. One of those is that emergency vehicles will not be able to reach this particular area in the case of fire or other emergencies.
“Not only will the development have a negative impact on the traffic in the area, but there will be no safe way or passage for pedestrians. Proper traffic assessments should have been conducted. Refuse trucks and furniture trucks and movers cannot access the area,” said Humphreys.
Ekurhuleni spokesperson Themba Gadebe said an application was submitted to council in terms of clause 29 of the Ekurhuleni Town Planning Scheme for the approval of a site development plan on August 6.
“As part of the process, the application was circulated to various internal departments for comment.
“Based on consideration of the comments from the various services departments, a decision was made on an application in terms of Section 35 of the Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act, 2013, and enabled by the Systems of Delegations for Executive Director: Sub- Delegations, dated March 29, 2017,” said Gadebe.
Gadebe said the site development was approved after consultation with various internal technical departments of council.
He added that the subject properties, portion 1303 of the farm Elandsfontein 90-IR and Erf 450 Primrose Hill, were zoned as residential 4 in terms of the past Germiston Town Planning Scheme, 1985, with a coverage 50 per cent and height of three storeys. The number of units was not specified.
However, the subject properties are now zoned residential 3 in terms of the Ekurhuleni Town Planning Scheme, 2014, with coverage of 50 per cent and height of three storeys with a maximum number of dwellings permissible being 85 dwelling units per hectare.
“With these controls, a maximum of 84 dwelling units can be approved on the subject property. The approved site development plan allows for 54 dwelling units. This is significantly lower than what is permissible in terms of the Town Planning Scheme,” said Gadebe.
He said the current zoning of the property is consistent with provisions of the Germiston Town Planning Scheme, 1985, which has been outdated by the Ekurhuleni Town Planning Scheme 2014.
“It is important to note that the application did not involve any application to change the zoning of the property. What is approved in terms of the site development plan is what would have been approved with the past town planning scheme,” he said.
Gadebe said the site has two access points, one on Kelly Road and another from Abelia Road.
“In terms of the approved site development plan, access for heavy vehicles, including vehicles for refuse removal and emergency services, will be from Abelia Road. This will thus not negatively affect residents who currently use Kelly Road. As part of the consideration of the application, a traffic impact study was required by the council’s roads and stormwater department,” he said.
He said the traffic impact study was prepared and submitted to the council’s traffic engineers for considerations and it was indicated that the content was satisfactory and approval of the development plan was recommended.
