Alberton ‘security estate’ divides residents

A father of two young children feels he was duped into buying a home by property development company Cosmopolitan Projects.

This as residents of Leopard’s Rest Security Estate in Alberton are torn between those who wanted the newly installed boom gate and intercom to be removed and those who said they were promised a low-cost, luxury security estate for as much as R1 million a property.

Mpho Sehume (not his real name), a new house owner at the estate, said he was one of about 100 new buyers after Cosmopolitan advertised Leopard’s Rest as a high-end security estate at competitive prices.

Old residents who bought properties knowing the place was registered as a township, originally petitioned for the company to improve security around the properties, due to a spike in violent crimes, including reports of rape. However, they were divided on whether to keep the recent security instalment.

Complaints by residents began when they discovered the “security estate” was registered as a township under town planning laws and could not legally bar entry into the neighbourhood. Despite this, the company insisted that adding a fence, boom gates, security guards and an intercom system meant they were allowed to call it an estate, since there was no legal guideline for this term.

A normal township refers to a new area being developed for residential use. According to Cosmopolitan, in 2016 when residents requested more security, the developer applied for permission to turn it into a boom-gated community – and 117 homeowners accepted it and only four opposed it.

“… Classifying Leopard’s Rest as a security estate is not false advertising since it offers extensive security with access control, as opposed to fully restricted access,” said Alda Erasmus, Cosmopolitan’s spokesperson.

After a meeting in 2018, the municipality decided to remove restricted access system after older residents complained about the intercom. Residents who wanted this back were encouraged to approach the municipality too.

“I would not have bought the property if I knew that it was registered as a township and so it could not be as safe as it was being advertised. I am scared for my children and wife,” said Sehume.

– simnikiweh@citizen.co.za

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