AHEAD of the public meeting with developers and other stakeholders of 166 Brand Road on Wednesday, May 28, Ward 33 councillor Fran Kristopher is calling on residents to share their concerns regarding an upcoming development.

Kristopher said there is a proposal to demolish the Amafa property for a rebuild. “I was approached a week ago by the architect regarding the development of above-mentioned property,” said Kristopher. “In the interest of public participation for the residents directly affected, residing in the surrounding properties, I have requested a meeting with all entities.”

The meeting is scheduled for 10:00 on Wednesday, at Stella Noir, 175 Helen Joseph Road (the old Julios). Kristopher said she has requested the Ward 33 Problem Property Forum to put an objection through, together with directly affected stakeholders, businesses or entities. The Problem Property Forum was set up earlier this year to combat the rising number of properties in Ward 33 being converted from family homes to overcrowded student accommodation. The other concern was the number of derelict and abandoned buildings being illegally occupied.

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At a public meeting held in February, Ward 33 resident Niki Moore was vocal with her concern about the rezoning of properties in the area, which is leading to densification. Moore said that since 2016 there has been an acceleration and uncontrolled densification of Durban’s residential suburbs, with no enforcement of zoning by-laws by the municipality.

“We are seeing family homes of five people now being occupied by 20 to 25 people; this is all being done without compliance or plans and leading to urban decay. There’s damages to infrastructure, strain on electricity and water supply, with noise nuisance that is making our communities difficult to live in as residents. It’s the residential ratepayers who are bearing the brunt of this, not the business or homeowners who are renting out these properties,” added Moore.

To send in your objections ahead of the public meeting on Wednesday, email cllr.frankay@gmail.com with your address/name/contact numbers. For more information and any other queries, contact Kristopher via WhatsApp on 062 126 8731.

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