Civic centre in disrepair

WHAT was once the pride of Queensburgh is now nothing more than an eyesore and an embarrassment to residents and councillors in the area.

Visible from some distance, stands the town hall bell tower. One of the bells has long disappeared and weeds and flowers sprout from the once beautiful clock. A short distance away is a historic grinding stone, the plaque that once adorned it is also missing.

The clock is no longer operational, it hasn’t worked since 2005 and the plaque has been replaced several times but seems to grow legs and disappear.

According to local councillor, Andre Mitchell, he first received complaints about the civic hall back in 2005. “The very first complaint I received was in 2005. I am personally appalled at the condition in and around our once proud Queensburgh Town Hall, through total neglect over many, many years, the hall is now in a state of disrepair. There is litter all around, bottles are strewn everywhere and the tower itself is in shambles.”

According to staff who were present when Queensburgh News visited the hall, the Parks Department was responsible for the upkeep of the town hall. Further investigation revealed that inadequate cleaning supplies contributed to the current state of the town hall. “In 2012, we learnt that R41 million was under spent by the Parks Department. How do they let that much money go to waste when our town hall is in shambles,” said Mitchell.

Garth Kloppenborg, head of the Parks Department in Queensburgh reportedly sent in an application to have the clock fixed in 2012, but to date has not received any feed back from the Architectural Department who are in charge of maintenance of the clock and the bell tower. “In a previous conversation with Mr Kloppenborg he did confirm that he had sent through the necessary request supported by paperwork to the relevant department but nothing has come of that,” added Mitchell.

“I have also requested previously that the responsibility to maintain our town hall be place back with Pinetown as was in the past, perhaps then we would see our crowning glory return to it’s former state,” added Mitchell.

Mr Kloppenborg had not responded by the time of going to print.