Birds die as developers start digging on Bonaero Park site
According to the metro, the owners of the site are allowed to begin with the ground work, but are not yet permitted to begin with construction
IT appears a number of seagulls have died as developers of a a new shopping mall in Bonaero Park have started excavating the past few weeks.
The site in question was formerly known as the old golf driving range near Bonaero Drive. It’s located at the intersection of Atlas Road before approaching Bonaero Park coming from the R21.
A concerned resident, who has been following the case closely, called EXPRESS on Tuesday morning.
Upon EXPRESS arrival at the scene, seagulls could be seen sitting randomly on heaps of sand, where developers have started digging in what was once their home, but has now become a construction site.
Upon closer inspection, EXPRESS reporter Alicia Loots said she discovered dead birds on the site.
“At almost every point where there was a dead bird, two or three other birds stood around it,” Loots explained.
The resident said the NSPCA has been trying its best to stop the matter but their hands were tied.
According to the resident, representatives from the national society have “been extremely cooperative and have approached the government department concerned, but because the development has been signed off by the department, the NSPCA can’t do anything to stop them”.
In the past weeks, other concerned residents have expressed their anger towards the lack of environmental care shown by the developers.
Another local, who has been keeping an eye on the development, Arthur van Vuuren, said he had previously questioned if the construction had an approved EIA (environmental impact assessment). He was apparently told an EIA had been approved in 2000.
“Various amendments have been made to the NEMA (National Environmental Management Act) and new regulations have been effective from August 2, 2010. Too much has changed in and around Bonaero Park since 2000 to accept that such EIA could still be valid,” Van Vuuren expressed.
He stressed that he was in no way opposing or condemning the development, but was rather insisting that proper environmental management, as required by law, be addressed.
According to Ekurhuleni Metro, there is an old township application (for Jan Smuts Extension 2) that was approved by the metro in 2004 on the subject property, which is not yet proclaimed at this stage. The owners of the site are allowed to begin with site preparation in terms of ground work, but are not yet permitted to begin with building construction.
“Currently there are no site development plans and building plans approved by council to permit the owner to commence with construction of the desired development. A month ago, the owner of the property commenced with the site preparation (ground work) without building construction which is acceptable from a building control perspective,” Themba Gadebe, metro spokesperson, explained.
Ward councillor André du Plessis confessed that this was a Catch 22 situation, because as much as it was an environmental concern for the birds, who had for years found themselves a natural habitat to live in, the property is privately owned and therefore the proprietors could do whatever they desired.
“At the same time, I have had various residents complaining about the birds: some in favour of them and others not. Whereas some residents believe the birds should be preserved and taken care of, others say they are a disturbance because they are noisy and fly over their homes and defecate in their yards,” Du Plessis explained.
Also, because some residents have gone as far as calling the birds a “health hazard”, Du Plessis also suggested tests could be done to assess this.
“There is a stench coming from the area because of the birds’ faeces building up, so a test to check either the cleanliness of the air can be conducted, and if it is toxic, it can be declared a health hazard. But we should also keep in mind that unlike other animals, birds cannot be simply taken and moved to another area, because they’ll just fly back here, where they have found themselves a home,” Du Plessis concluded.
When EXPRESS called the number for the apparent owners of the property, a woman said “no comment” and hung up the phone.
Furthermore, more than 70 pigeons and guinea fowl from the Bird Sanctuary in Bonaero died on the same day.
At the time of going to print, the cause of the deaths was unknown but it was suspected to be due to a sewage spill. EXPRESS will publish an article regarding the issue soon.
