High-speed rubble pile
NORTHCLIFF – Resident voices her concern over rubble build-up due to Vumatel construction.
Residents face high-speed buildup of grievances with Vumatel for the entity’s dumping.
Janet Gutstadt, a resident of Northcliff, said since Vumatel started work in the area back in July, they have turned an open space of land between Alida and Hockey avenues into a rubble dumpsite.
She voiced how she had frequently had talks with Vumatel staff about her discomfort with the constant dumping. Although they would reassure her the issue would get resolved, which it sometimes did, rubble would quickly pile up again.
“Northcliff residents are people who have lived here for years and we do not want to see our neighbourhood look unpleasant,” said Gutstadt. She added that, lately, when she took a look around her neighbourhood she would see all that Vumatel had allegedly discarded. Be it an open hole on the corner of the road or a trench that had been dug up and left open for a while.
“People find it difficult to walk on pavements because there is no room for them to walk and are then forced to walk on the busy roads, which is not safe,” she said.
Her hopes are that when Vumatel has completed laying fibre, they would leave the neighbourhood as pleasant as they found it. Vumatel spokesperson, Kirsten Eddy expressed that although unique challenges have been faced in the Northcliff area, the company is determined to improve the area rather than ruin it.
She added that because of the suburb’s unique geological make-up, trenches dug in the area are full of rock and this rock cannot be put back and therefore needs to be removed. “The skips are subsequently filling up much faster than in other suburbs and we have, therefore, undertaken to schedule more regular pickups.”
Vumatel is faced with the addition challenge of turnaround times for skip pickups. “The company we are using to remove the rubble has been taking longer than the usual 24-hour turnaround time to collect the skips,” said Eddy. She added that they had cleared the site several times since the start of the project. She said the area is still being used as they have not completed the infrastructural project in the area.
Eddy explained that Vumatel is committed to reinstate the area to the same – or better condition – as they found it. She said that large infrastructural projects like these are, unfortunately, disruptive and can cause an inconvenience to residents. However, she said they hope their method of open channels between them and the residents will continue to work cohesively.
If residents have any queries or concerns they can email: Vumatel on northcliff@vumatel.co.za
