Paterson Street residents look for help to reclaim area
Residents needDonations could help Paterson Street residents facing worsening conditions help as crime, poor roads and illegal dumping continue to affect them.
Paterson Street residents living in the railway houses remain frustrated over the lack of service delivery and feel that things are only getting worse for them.
At the centre of all this is a small dirt road just off Paterson Street, which provides access to about six homes.
Failing service delivery has left residents feeling helpless and begging their local government for help.
“We’re just left to fend for ourselves here. We are constantly targeted by criminals, we struggle to reach our homes when it rains as a result of the deterioration of the roads here, and our area has become a hotspot for illegal dumping,” said ward committee member Mr V Singh.
Residents say crime is becoming a constant threat
Just last week, an 89-year-old woman and her daughter were confronted by a burglar in their home.
“We saw the man sitting outside our kitchen door, busy covering a battery he had stolen from our kitchen,” said the resident.
She believes it was a ‘phara’ who had been around the homes a week earlier, begging for food.
“I gave him bread and sent him on his way. However, I believe he was actually checking to see what he could steal from our property,” she said.
Singh and a neighbour heard the commotion and gave chase after the burglar. However, he managed to escape and disappeared into traffic.
“These guys come from under the Hardwick Street Bridge and constantly target our homes to steal items they can sell quickly to support their drug habits,” he said.
He continued that, “We’ve been told before that law enforcement will do regular raids under the bridge, but that isn’t happening. That is not okay. Our lives are constantly in danger here and these thugs are just being left to do what they want.”
Aside from the Hardwick Street Bridge, an open field between the residents’ homes and businesses in Hardwick Street has also attracted criminals.
According to Singh, residents have on more than one occasion caught criminals hiding in the field and allegedly watching the homes.
“This issue has also been brought to the attention of the municipality more than once. We have asked them to close access to the field, but this has not been done.”
“At what stage will we, as law-abiding citizens, become a priority for the municipality? We pay rates and taxes just like everyone else, but we have to beg for help, for decent roads, for protection?”
The Newcastle Advertiser has sent several media enquiries to Newcastle Municipality regarding the Paterson Street complaints.
However, no response has been received to date.
