Historic hall: Residents plead for urgent intervention
Westville residents have once again appealed to the City to help restore the Frank Farrer Hall at the Palmiet Nature Reserve which is on the verge of collapsing.
WITNESSING a historic structure slowly collapsing is disheartening for long-standing Westville residents, some of whom have tried for many years to get the City to intervene.
The recent heavy rains in Durban caused further damage to the hall at the Palmiet Nature Reserve which is currently closed to the public. A concerned resident, Jean Senogles, said they have been pleading for nearly 30 years for the hall to be protected.
The residents who spoke to the Highway Mail said the Frank Farrer Hall issue became a particularly pressing one after the April 2022 floods when the foundations were exposed through the washing away of the river bank.
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“It is sad and concerning as the eroding of the river bank on which the hall and staff accommodation are situated is an ongoing problem that has been highlighted by various concerned individuals for a number of years.
“Over the years, the hall has been used to accommodate learners as a number of schools visit the nature reserve.
“There used to be literacy lessons for domestic staff and lectures every month on conservation themes. There was also a church service every Sunday. The neglect of this hall is so disappointing,” said Senogles.
She said she also feared for residents who live along the river bank and for the municipal staff who work at the reserve. Senogles stressed that if the hall collapses, it would be an ecological disaster for the Palmiet River and the wildlife in the reserve.
“This is a situation anyone who loves and uses the Palmiet Nature Reserve would like to avoid. The delays means that the eThekwini ratepayers now have to pay substantially more to repair the hall, and the community is deprived of a public resource.”
She pleaded with the eThekwini Municipality to make the repair of the hall a priority to prevent its total collapse.
The Highway Mail has previously written about the deteriorating condition of this historic hall. The eThekwini Municipality was again asked to comment on the hall issue but no comment was received by the time of publishing.
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