Vacant land a carpet of rubbish
NOORDHANG – Residents say it is unsafe to go near an abandoned property next to Blandford Road.
Residents believe a security and health issue is developing on vacant land adjacent to Blandford Road and they are at their wit’s end in trying to get help from the municipality to clean the area.
The vacant property in Noordhang has been taken over by reclaimers and is carpeted with rubbish, but this is just one of the problems there.
“Surrounding complexes are being targeted by means of robberies,” complained resident Aldene Stiebel.
“It’s even unsafe for residents to walk or exercise along the vacant land stretch. Domestics are being attacked and the attackers are using the veld as the escape route and hideout area.”
Another resident, Alex Beccaro, also complained about how the municipality dug up pavements outside to fix water leaks but workers have left two open holes in the ground, one with underground cables exposed.
“Are you waiting for someone to fall into the hole (which is 2m deep), and get injured?” He asked in an email addressed to City officials.
“Are you waiting for a car to fall in, and someone gets seriously injured as the danger tape is long gone? Are you waiting for the cable thieves to build up courage and to come and steal the cable because it is clearly visible? Or are you waiting for the rains to start so that the whole road gets undermined and collapses so that it costs you even more to repair?”
Johannesburg City Parks and Zoo (JCPZ) spokesperson Jenny Moodley confirmed that because the properties surrounding the Sable complex are owned by private developers, the City’s Environmental Health Department needs to ‘issue a directive for quotation from JCPZ in order for us to clean the vacant stands through our external services department’.
Ward 101 councilor Dalu Cele said he has escalated the issue with the Department of Environmental Health for months, but they have not told him when or how action will be taken.
Randburg Sun has also contacted the department, as well as spokespeople for the City of Johannesburg, and is waiting for their comment on the matter.
